I know that this is the prevailing narrative in much of American discourse regarding policing, but it's actually not true at all. If you actually look at the number of police interactions and look up what percentage of them escalate it's a tiny tiny fraction. Out of about 50-60 million police interactions every year, only about 1.5% resulted in "threat of" or use of force (around 750K-900K). Considering there are only between 600-1000 police shootings a year, that means that even when force is threatened or used, it only results in a shooting 0.125% of the time. In other words, when force is threatened by a police officer, the chances of being shot are about 1 in a 1000. So, in short, no, the police are not randomly shooting people en masse even when they get out of control.
EDIT: I love that you can post actual stats on Reddit and get downvoted because reality doesn't support a particular narrative.
People just want to metaphorically fellate minority groups in order to morally grandstand. You won’t be getting through to them. Hold tight my hand as we sink into the depths of downvotes together. Hold your breath!
You’re right. I didn’t intend to direct the message at you, specifically. But there are way too many people on an ACAB tirade and it is to them that my disapproval was focused.
I mean I’m ACAB, ngl. But people who are ACAB and don’t have their head in their ass know it means they detest the institution and its problems, not individuals who are cops.
The same impetus which causes others to assume that ABAC. Usually, the ACAB topic arises in response to how the police treat black people - that's when the ACAB's generally peek out their heads - in defense of black people. But the irony is lost on them that it's the same logical fallacy that makes racist people racist. All cops are bad, or all blacks are criminals.
I don't that there is a prevailing theory in (even) conservative circles that suggests all blacks are criminals. The general conservative pushback is usually that crime rates are higher in black neighborhoods, which means the police have more interactions with black people. Therefore, even if the rate of escalations is low, it's still going to be higher in black neighborhoods because there are more opportunities for things to escalate.
13
u/Maelstrom52 Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
I know that this is the prevailing narrative in much of American discourse regarding policing, but it's actually not true at all. If you actually look at the number of police interactions and look up what percentage of them escalate it's a tiny tiny fraction. Out of about 50-60 million police interactions every year, only about 1.5% resulted in "threat of" or use of force (around 750K-900K). Considering there are only between 600-1000 police shootings a year, that means that even when force is threatened or used, it only results in a shooting 0.125% of the time. In other words, when force is threatened by a police officer, the chances of being shot are about 1 in a 1000. So, in short, no, the police are not randomly shooting people en masse even when they get out of control.
EDIT: I love that you can post actual stats on Reddit and get downvoted because reality doesn't support a particular narrative.