Possible reasons Why US police are killing unarmed African Americans

On Wednesday the 25th of May 2020, George Floyd, a tall 46-year-old African American, walked into Cup Foods, a grocery store at the intersection of East 38th street & Chicago avenue in the Powderhorn Park neighbourhood of Minneapolis. Later that evening, Floyd was seen laying down on his chest with his cheek to the ground, saying, " I can't breathe" precisely 16 times while officer Chauvin's knee was placed firmly on his neck.

We all know the aftermath of that incident and the emotional uproar it instigated. This was not the first incident of a US cop killing an unarmed black man. Others before him were the 50-year-old Walter Scott, 18-year-old Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and many others. So, the question is Why are US cops killing unarmed African Americans?

1. Could it be racism?

Many Americans without any doubt believed that police brutality unfairly targets black people and that the American justice system criminalizes African Americans. Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police in the United States. Many feel its racism because to them black lives are no longer valued, giving rise to movements such as "Black Lives Matter".

A post in  The Guardian explains that nine out of 10 Americans believed that racism and police violence are a serious problem in the country. The unexpected turn of events leading to a series of deaths of unarmed black men by white police officers has beyond any reasonable doubt served as a supporting premise to many. 

Another post in National Review stated that About twice as many white people as black people are killed and that about 75% of police shootings, the decedent is not black. Some studies try to explain that the notion of more blacks being killed by US cops might be flawed. And that it's being exacerbated by the media. 

How true is it? 

2.  Could it be implicit bias?

In a study based on an experiment called “Shoot don’t shoot studies",  has a person or subject sitting in front of a computer monitor and photo's will pop up quickly and it's going to have either a white man or a black man and that man is going to have a gun in his hands or a neutral object which could be something like a cell phone.

 The person sitting is told to press the "shoot key" if he/she sees a threat and the “don’t shoot key” when no threat is found. This study found out that people are quicker to press the “shoot key” when the computer monitor shows an unarmed black man. So, the question is why? It's because of implicit bias.

Implicit bias is linking a group of people to stereotypes which could result in discriminatory behaviour. Many people link African Americans to crimes, violence, and aggression. It explains why a subject sitting in front of that computer is easily prompted to press the shoot key on the sight of a black man's photo.

Does this explain why a US cop might be easily prompted to pull the trigger?

A report looking at cases where Philadelphia police killed people added important info called "Threat perception failure". Due to this perception, an officer will believe a person is armed and it turns out not to be the case. And this is much likely to occur if the person is black. Even black officers are prone to the same mistake. But could this be the reason?

3. Could it be warrior cop training?

Imagine this scenario, a police officer pulls over a vehicle whose driver happens to be a black man, He then went over and asks for an ID then the man without any hesitation lowers his head while his hands delve for it. The police officer will then start to think this man might be getting a gun??

The warrior cop training teaches officers that everyone around them is a threat until proven otherwise. And that every encounter is a Potentially deadly incident. Could this be the reason why US cops are so quick to act? 

We have so many questions, thoughts, and assumptions about the reasons why a US cop would pull the trigger at a poor unarmed African American. The action seems reckless, unthoughtful, and inhumane. And this creates spites, hatred, or contempt because it hurts to see a loved one killed helplessly in cold blood by his countryman. The US government has a role to play, the people are talking and the police need to review a lot of things, get to know the people more and change their actions.

You can also learn more from BBC World Service podcast Why do US Cops keep killing unarmed Black men?