Summary

The article argues that police violence in the US is not solely a racial issue but is more closely linked to socioeconomic status, with poor individuals of all races being disproportionately affected.

Abstract

The content presented on the website challenges the narrative that police brutality in the United States is primarily racially motivated. It suggests that the commonality among victims of police violence is their socioeconomic status rather than their race. The article provides examples of white victims who have been killed or harmed by police under circumstances similar to those of well-known black victims. It emphasizes that the majority of individuals killed by police are impoverished, and the racial distribution of these victims mirrors the poverty rates in the US, with a quarter being black, a quarter Hispanic, and half white. The piece also criticizes the media and public discourse for quickly forgetting white victims, which it claims serves to minimize the perceived scale of police militarization and abuse. The article concludes by advocating for the demilitarization of the police as a solution to end police killings.

Opinions

The author believes that the issue of police abuse is misrepresented as a purely racial problem when it is fundamentally a class issue affecting the poor.
The article posits that media coverage and societal memory are selective, focusing on black victims while often overlooking white victims, which skews the public's understanding of police violence.
It is suggested that the proportionality of police killings by race aligns with poverty rates, indicating that socioeconomic status is a more accurate predictor of police violence than race.
The author criticizes the lack of attention given to poor white and Hispanic victims of police violence, implying that this oversight undermines efforts to address systemic issues within law enforcement.
The piece advocates for a radical reformation of policing, specifically calling for the demilitarization of police forces to prevent further killings.

For every black victim of the police, there are equivalent white victims

Antiracists believe police abuse is based on race, but the statistics show it is based on class: almost everyone killed by the police in the US is poor, and police killings are racially proportionate to US poverty: 1/4 are black, 1/4 are Hispanic, and half are white. Many black victims of the police are well known today, but white victims are quickly forgotten. This is convenient for the police—it makes the problem of police militarization look much smaller than it actually is.

Here are a few incidents with white victims that parallel those with black ones:

Shot like Oscar Grant and Daunte Wright by a cop who claimed to have meant to use a Taser: Brian Riling was shot in the stomach, and Eric David Butts was shot in the lower back.

Shot like Philando Castile while obeying the police: David Kassick was shot twice in the back while lying facedown in the snow after being stopped for an expired inspection sticker.

Shot like Tamir Rice and John Crawford III while holding a BB or pellet gun: Hannah Williams had a BB gun in her rental car. Payton Ham was in his yard playing with an airsoft gun. Daniel Shaver was in his hotel room when someone saw him near the window. (These kinds of killings are common: Since 2015, 124 white people and 46 black people have been killed by the police because they had toy weapons.)

Shot like Mike Brown and Rayshard Brooks while resisting the police: Derek Cruice was killed while wearing nothing but his basketball shorts. Zachary Hammond while trying to drive away from the police.

Shot like Breonna Taylor at home during a no-knock raid after someone else in the address shot at the police: David Hooks answered his door with an unloaded shotgun after his wife saw people approaching with weapons. No drugs were found at his home. Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle were killed with their dog after a raid based on the claim they were selling heroin—no heroin was found at their home.

Shot like Botham Jean at home after the police went into the wrong address: Andrew Thomas Finch was killed by the police after a prank caller sent a SWAT team to his address.

Shot like Atatiana Jefferson at home after the police mistook her for a burglar: Richard Gary Black was killed in his home when police responded to a burglary call.

Shot like Corey Jones without warning: Robert Cameron Redus was pulled over for speeding and shot after saying sarcastically, “Oh, you’re gonna shoot me?”

Shot like Stephon Clark, who held a cell phone that was mistaken for a gun: Christopher Roupe answered the door holding a WII controller.

Choked to death like Eric Garner, George Floyd, and Elijah McCain: Tony Timpa was mocked by the police while he choked to death. David Glen Ward was the victim of a carjacking, but the police thought was the suspect and put him into a fatal chokehold.

Died in police custody like Sandra Bland: Brenda Sewell’s guards withheld her prescription medicine.

A few other incidents of outrageous police killings:

Kristiana Coignard, a bipolar 100-pound teen, was killed after she entered a police station carrying a knife.

Autumn Mae Steele, was killed by an officer who said he was trying to kill her dog.

Duncan Lemp was unarmed and is believed to have been killed in his sleep.

James Whitehead, an unarmed white man who insulted a black cop and was killed by him.

There is one solution to all police killings: Demilitarize the police now!

PS. In the comments, several people have noted that US poverty is disproportionately black. I assume everyone knows this. That does not change the fact that poor white and black people are equally likely to be killed by the police, while richer white and black people are equally unlikely to be killed.