A look by the Justice Department into the use of lethal force by police reveals that Philadelphia has an above-average number of police shootings compared to cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
The report was requested by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey after a 2013 Philly.com article reported that although the amount of crime in Philadelphia was decreasing, the amount of shootings by officers was increasing. The Justice Department reported that Philadelphia police officers are poorly trained in mediating conflicts without resorting to violence and that "shootings are all too frequent." It also found that the main targets were black men and most often when they were shot for being suspected to be reaching for a weapon, they were actually reaching for other objects like cellphones.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey gladly receive the report's recommendations and stated they will work to implement them."Folks need to quit killing each other," Ramsey said. "People want good police officers. Police officers need good citizens" Nutter added.
Read more at The New York Times.
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