Study Of Racial Bias In Police Shootings Shows Surprising Result
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A Harvard economics professor who is looking into racial bias in police shootings calls what he found the most surprising result of his career.
The study found no evidence that police are more likely to shoot a black suspect than a white one. But it did show that black people are significantly more likely to be touched, pushed, handcuffed or pepper-sprayed by police.
Professor Roland Fryer, who is African-American, used data from police departments in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Orlando, among other cities.
Ten years' worth of data on police encounters under New York City's "stop and frisk" program, which has since been discontinued was also studied.
While Fryer says the data on shootings surprised him, the numbers on lower-level force didn't.
He told the New York Times, "Who the hell wants to have a police officer put their hand on them or yell and scream at them? It's an awful experience."
