NYCLU accuses NYPD of bias in shootings

If you're black or Latino, you're more likely to be shot at by NYPD officers, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union report. According to the NYCLU, nearly 90 percent of people shot at by officers

News 12 Staff

May 6, 2008, 5:23 PM

Updated 6,057 days ago

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If you're black or Latino, you're more likely to be shot at by NYPD officers, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union report.
According to the NYCLU, nearly 90 percent of people shot at by officers over the past two years were black or Latino. The organization says additionally, officers were the only ones who were shooting in 77 percent of the incidents between 1999 and 2006. The NYCLU says in 2006, officers fired five shots on average per incident.
The NYCLU reported its findings Monday to a City Council panel. The group is demanding that the NYPD provide detailed information that includes the race of people who officers shoot at in every single incident.
The group also claims only 3.7 percent of black officers have attained the rank of captain or higher in the NYPD. An NYCLU spokesperson says the NYPD won't shake its racially insensitive image until it promotes a more diverse range of cops.
The NYPD counters that it does provide detailed reports of each shooting, and that the force has the lowest rate of fatal shootings for every 1,000 cops compared to police departments in other large cities.
As for promotions, the NYPD says more than half of eligible black officers have been promoted to ranks above captain ? 10 percent more than their white counterparts ? out of the current pool.
NYCLU