Report: Race a Factor in Police 'Friendly Fire' Killings
WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010
New York, NY —
A task force finds race is often a factor in police "friendly fire" incidents.
The report says 26 police officers were killed nationwide over the past 30 years by colleagues who mistook them for criminals. Many were "officers of color," including 10 of 14 officers killed since 1995.
The task force, commissioned by Gov. David Paterson, recommends establishing protocols for off-duty conduct and increasing testing for racial bias among officers.
Harvard professor Christopher Stone oversaw the analysis, and says many officers share the racial biases of the general public. Stone says some research suggests that police training can reduce that unconscious bias. "If there's a possibility that's true, it needs to be seized," Stone says. The recommendations in the report are non-binding. They come a year after the killing of two black undercover officers by uniformed police in Harlem.
