LOOK at this chart! It shows the comparative rate in wealthy nations of people killed by police per 10 million population. What is wrong with this chart is sickeningly obvious, US police kill more people than anywhere else in the developed world. You might say, well it is because of racism. The UK has racism too, but its citizens are sixty times less likely to be killed by their police.
The United States has to come to grips with basic facts: violent police action is an accepted form of social control. The nation has an ingrained history of white supremacy in which non-whites are marginalized, and subjected to brutality. Our popular culture is immersed in the depiction of lethal violence as harmless entertainment. Hell, even our most popular sport is an analog for war. The pervasive availability of firearms, especially military grade weapons, contributes to more lethal interactions with police who see themselves as unaccountable for their excessive use of force. In Finland, the police fired just six bullets in all of 2013! Cops in Pasco, Washington fired 17 bullets in one 2015 incident killing a Mexican orchard worker.
The quick decision to file charges against five Memphis policemen (all black) for the second degree murder of motorist Tyree Nichols during a traffic stop is surprising and unusual. Tyree was literally beaten to death on camera. Ask yourself this: would the charges have been so rapidly filed if the officers were white? Hiring more black and brown officers who have internalized the oppressive police culture will not change the behavior. Individual accountability is needed, but it is not the entire answer to police violence. A fundamental change in the model of insuring public safety is what is needed in the United States. It is time to start over. Defund the paramilitaries!