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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice will set up databases that will track instances of death by police shooting, as well as voluntarily reported deaths due to suicide or medical issues while in police custody:
Under the plan, the Justice Department will gather more data on the use of force by federal agents and help local departments report information on a wider range of police encounters. But a number of the reporting steps will rely on local police officials to voluntarily submit data, and some civil rights advocates said the Justice Department had not made clear how it would impose financial penalties set by Congress to encourage the reporting of police shootings.
[...] The most comprehensive records on police shootings have come from the news media, particularly The Washington Post and The Guardian, which have created running databases. James B. Comey, the director of the F.B.I., told lawmakers last year that it was "embarrassing" that the news media could produce better data than his own agency on such an important issue. [...] According to the Post database, 991 people were fatally shot by the police last year, and 754 have been so far this year.
[...] Under the Justice Department plan, the F.B.I. is to begin a pilot program early next year to assemble data on the use of force by about 178,000 agents at major federal law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the F.B.I. itself. In addition, the Justice Department plans to begin collecting data from local and state law enforcement departments on "in custody" deaths — not just in shootings, but in cases of suicide and natural death as well.
A measure passed by Congress in 2014 called the Death in Custody Reporting Act required local departments to report only fatal encounters. Justice Department officials said they would rely on local police officials to voluntarily report nonlethal encounters as well. Under a third part of the plan, the Justice Department said it was authorizing $750,000 for a "police data initiative" designed to help local departments collect and publicly release information on a wider range of actions, including stops of citizens, searches, the use of force, shootings and other encounters.
Also at The Guardian and NPR. See also: Fatal Encounters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 15 2016, @12:42PM
> slave reparations are 100% racist.
How is that? Was Dr King a racist?
> The name of the organization itself is divisive.
Oh, you are a racist so you are offended when people say that black lives matter too.
Got it!
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday October 19 2016, @07:45PM
Dr. King to my knowledge was not advocating slavery reparations, but simply equality. Furthermore, in the times he did speak about compensation, *he included disadvantaged white people*. If he did support slavery reparations to be paid to black people, then I strongly disagree with him, even though he is my hero. I donated to his monument in Washington D.C so that there would be one good man celebrated in that twisted city.
Slavery reparations are intrinsically racist. You cannot go back in time and tax those that were truly responsible, nor can you deliver compensation to those truly affected. You only have ONE demographic to tax for these funds that have nobody to be paid towards anyways, and guess what that is?
ALL OF US YOU FUCKING IDJIOT!!
So you end up taking $100 from Johnny, a white man, and you give it to Frank, a black man. How is that not purely racist? Why does Johnny find a moral or ethical obligation to subsidize Frank with free money? What actions did Johnny perform again that required compensation to Frank? For that matter, was Frank truly harmed? I find that hard to believe when Frank is 22 years old and never lived through the civil rights movement, or before it, or through segregation, Jim Crow laws, the Civil War, slavery, or the fucking boats over here. None of it. In fact, Frank is a fairly normal young adult saddling himself with college debt and looking to party.
It's not that simple either. What about the situation in which you wish to compensate somebody with one white parent, and one black parent? 50% of payout, or do we hire Pantone to calculate skin color and look up the payout rate?
Slavery reparations only sound good until you need to figure out the logistics of it. I will never support paying taxes simply because of the color of my skin, and I can certainly never support the government giving people money simply because of theirs. It's wrong, and racism cannot cure racism.
You would do well to remember Dr. King's words if you choose to use him in an argument:
I'm offended in its context, you bet your ass.
Black people ARE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE BEING MURDERED BY POLICE. While it's true that they're being murdered at a greater rate, that does not negate all of the other victims. It's not just a problem with racism, but authoritarianism itself. How you see police treating us, is the same way they abuse others in different not-so-multicultural places.
Yes. I'm offended when they only choose to represent one group of victims and choose to ignore the rest. ALL LIVES MATTER. Period.
I could even get past the stupidity of the name, and the foolishly divisive nature of the group, but I cannot get past the slavery reparations they put forth. They advocate racism when they advocate me paying taxes simply because of the color of my skin.
Now, if you want to talk about social programs designed to help forgotten communities and heal our neglected neighborhoods, I'M ALL FOR IT.
I don't mind paying a 60% tax rate for those social programs, but that is because they will not be based on race. They would be based on an economic recovery program purely aimed at the poor and the bottom of the middle class. I'm betting that would apply to a large chunk of black America, and be similarly beneficial as slavery reparations would be. Just without the racism.
I'm willing to help people, but I will fucking rip your eyes out from your anus if you tell me I have to pay 1 penny because of how I was born.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.