Sobering statistics.
America's law enforcement officers have shot and killed upwards of 385 people so far this year, according to a new Washington Post investigation. That's a rate of about 1 every 9 hours, or 2.5 shootings per day. That's a lot compared to other countries -- cops in Germany killed only 8 people in 2013-2014, for instance. British police didn't kill anyone last year.
Through June 1, there have been 5,099 gun deaths in the U.S., according to up-to-date numbers maintained by the Gun Violence Archive. Based on the 385 figure, that means that American police are responsible for about 1 in every 13 gun deaths in the country, or 8 percent. The Gun Violence Archive numbers include suicide as well as homicide, so the police-involved share of gun homicides would be even larger.
Many of these killings are undoubtedly justifiable acts of self-defense. The Post database shows that 317 of the police shooting victims were carrying guns or other weapons at the time of their death. On the other hand, that leaves 62 police shootings where the victim didn't have any weapon at all, and another six where the presence of a victim's weapon is still unknown.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs.../police-commit-1-in-13-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/