His death, similar to that of Rodney King, created racial tension between police and London citizens, sparking riots throughout England.
It also created a conversation about police shootings.
In over 10,000 armed police operations carried out between 2011 and 2014, London police fired their weapons only 20 times, resulting in 1 death.
In the entire United Kingdom, this figure rises to 5 deaths.
However, in the United States, police shot and killed over 1600 individuals. Why such a large difference?
Part of the United States’ higher number of police shootings may be attributed to the nation’s size and population, which is considerably larger than that of the UK.
But even if one alters the numbers to compensate, the US still has a much higher rate than its neighbor across the pond.
Perhaps the States’ disproportionate amount of shootings stems from its revolutionary history, which created a focus on gun rights held up by the Second Amendment. Or maybe it’s a cultural issue reinforced by violent entertainment and language, an opinion shared by some media critics.
Either way, it is a statistic worth discussing.
