Post by coots on Nov 23, 2011 2:28:35 GMT -5
NY DAILY NEWS
Police Involved Shootings Drop to All-Time Low, But More Shots Fired, NYPD Report Says.
The number of police-involved shootings hit a record low in 2010, but cops still fired nearly a quarter more bullets than a year earlier, an NYPD report says.
The figures were included in the department’s annual Firearms Discharge report, which logs every incident in which a cop shoots his gun — from firing at suspects or animals to committing or attempting suicide.
Last year, police fired their guns 92 times, 13% less than the 106 shootings in 2009. It’s the lowest number in the 40 years that the NYPD has tracked such data.
The department is on target to break that all-time low this year: with just six weeks left in 2011, there have been only 83 police-involved shootings.
The shootings last year included 16 people shot and wounded by officers and 8 shot and killed by officers, both also record lows.
"The improvement is due to police training, restraint, and our success in reducing crime overall," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The number of bullets fired by police last year actually increased 24%, from 297 to 368.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman, said two gun battles, including one in which police fired 46 shots during a confrontation in Harlem, skewered the numbers.
He also pointed out that the 297 shots fired in 2009 was a record low.
Still, Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said police have to make sure the increase doesn’t continue.
“Because the NYPD operates in a crowded urban setting, the number of shots fired is always a concern,’’ he said. “The more bullets that get fired, the more likely that bystanders will be hit.”
Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he has the same concern for the 30 animal shootings — 29 dogs and one raccoon — in which police were involved.
“But overall it’s a staggeringly good report,” O’Donnell said. “This is their signature issue. It’s the very best thing they do — train people how to use deadly force and make it a big deal whenever they use their weapons.”
Maybe they are using their pepper spray more.
Police Involved Shootings Drop to All-Time Low, But More Shots Fired, NYPD Report Says.
The number of police-involved shootings hit a record low in 2010, but cops still fired nearly a quarter more bullets than a year earlier, an NYPD report says.
The figures were included in the department’s annual Firearms Discharge report, which logs every incident in which a cop shoots his gun — from firing at suspects or animals to committing or attempting suicide.
Last year, police fired their guns 92 times, 13% less than the 106 shootings in 2009. It’s the lowest number in the 40 years that the NYPD has tracked such data.
The department is on target to break that all-time low this year: with just six weeks left in 2011, there have been only 83 police-involved shootings.
The shootings last year included 16 people shot and wounded by officers and 8 shot and killed by officers, both also record lows.
"The improvement is due to police training, restraint, and our success in reducing crime overall," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The number of bullets fired by police last year actually increased 24%, from 297 to 368.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman, said two gun battles, including one in which police fired 46 shots during a confrontation in Harlem, skewered the numbers.
He also pointed out that the 297 shots fired in 2009 was a record low.
Still, Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said police have to make sure the increase doesn’t continue.
“Because the NYPD operates in a crowded urban setting, the number of shots fired is always a concern,’’ he said. “The more bullets that get fired, the more likely that bystanders will be hit.”
Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he has the same concern for the 30 animal shootings — 29 dogs and one raccoon — in which police were involved.
“But overall it’s a staggeringly good report,” O’Donnell said. “This is their signature issue. It’s the very best thing they do — train people how to use deadly force and make it a big deal whenever they use their weapons.”
Maybe they are using their pepper spray more.
