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POLICING THE USA
Policing the USA

Cop bias is real, study shows. So is pessimism about race relations.

Police more likely to use certain types of force against blacks, Hispanics

Eileen Rivers
USA TODAY
Nyima Coleman at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

If you're black or Hispanic in America, your chances of police using non-lethal force against you are significantly higher than that of whites. And, not surprisingly, more than half (61%) of black Americans feel pessimistic about race relations, according to studies published by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Pew Research Center respectively.

In addition, while only half of whites (compared with 84% of blacks) say police treat African Americans less fairly, Pew found that 40% of white Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement. Support among white Democrats jumps by more than 20 points to 64% (for more details, see graphics below).

POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice and media

The study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research was conducted by Harvard economics professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. and also stated, based on ProPublica research, that 44% of those shot by police in the USA are white. The greater the level of force (think Tasers and guns vs. batons), the less racial bias seemed to be a factor in police actions, according to Fryer's report. For more findings from his "Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police use of Force" study, here's a link to the data.

What's your view on Black Lives Matter? Are you in agreement with the 64% of white Democrats who support it? How do you think blacks are treated by police compared with whites? The courts? Take a look at the national views on this page, then leave your views in the quick polls to the right.

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