Title: Police shootings database 2015-2021 - Washington Post
Headings: 985
people have been shot and killed by police in the past year

985 people have been shot and killed by police in the past year
Rate of shootings remains steady
Black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than White Americans
Most victims are young, male
Shootings happen across the country
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The Post's reporting on fatal police shootings

Content: Police shootings database 2015-2021 - Washington Post
985 people have been shot and killed by police in the past year
In 2015, The Washington Post began to log every fatal shooting by an on-duty police officer in the United States. In that time there have been more than 5,000 such shootings recorded by The Post. Jump to the database
After Michael Brown, an unarmed Black man, was killed in 2014 by police in Ferguson, Mo., a Post investigation found that the FBI undercounted fatal police shootings by more than half. This is because reporting by police departments is voluntary and many departments fail to do so. The Post’s data relies primarily on news accounts, social media postings and police reports. Analysis of more than five years of data reveals that the number and circumstances of fatal shootings and the overall demographics of the victims have remained relatively constant. Rate of shootings remains steady
Despite the unpredictable events that lead to fatal shootings, police nationwide have shot and killed almost the same number of people annually — nearly 1,000 — since The Post began its project. Probability theory may offer an explanation. It holds that the quantity of rare events in huge populations tends to remain stable absent major societal changes, such as a fundamental shift in police culture or extreme restrictions on gun ownership. Black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than White Americans
Although half of the people shot and killed by police are White, Black Americans are shot at a disproportionate rate.