Fatal police shootings rise in Tulsa, decline in Okla.

According to a database compiled by the Washington Post, there have been 776 fatal shootings by police in the United States in 2016. In most months, the number of shootings has been down from 2015, which ended with 991 shootings. However, the overall number is only down by 19 when counting both years from January to the end of September (745 in 2015 vs 726 in 2016).

According to the Tulsa World, Oklahoma had the highest rate of police shootings per million people in June of 2015, with 4.9 shootings per million people in the state. By the end of 2015, according to the Washington Post, Oklahoma had dropped down to third place with 8.3 shootings per million, behind New Mexico and Wyoming. The state has dropped even further down the rankings in 2016, currently the 6th highest rate, at 4.38 fatal police shootings per million people (behind NM, AK, AZ, CO and SD).

The overall number of police shootings has dropped in Oklahoma as well. In June 2015, the Tulsa World notes that Oklahoma had 19 shootings. Oklahoma has had 17 shootings as of October 23rd, 2016, lower than 2015’s number and four months later in the year. The numbers vary slightly between different databases depending on their methodology, but the Washington Post says Oklahoma ended 2015 with at least 32 total police shootings. Tulsa World reports 34.

Looking at data compiled by the Tulsa World since 2007, there was a large increase in fatal shootings from 2013 to 2015 (from 17 in 2013 to 25 in 2014 and 34 in 2015). 2016 will likely not reach those numbers.

Despite the number of police shootings lowering in Oklahoma overall, Tulsa’s number has risen substantially. According to the Tulsa World’s breakdown of data by county, Tulsa Police Department was involved in no fatal shootings in 2015. However, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office was involved in one shooting, the infamous case of Robert Bates shooting Eric Harris. So far in 2016, there have been 5 fatal shootings involving the Tulsa Police Department.

Post Author: tucollegian

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