Police Violence in the U.S.

Police Killings: Consequences Pending...

Protests continue after Daunte Wright, a young, Black American, was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota on Sunday.

By Jeremy Connor and Jasemin Uysal

Published on 21 April 2021

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Wright's death is one of many recent deaths at the hands of the police in the Black-American community. In the first three months of 2021 alone, U.S. police have killed 42 Black people. If history is any predictor, almost all of these killings will go unpunished.

Statistics show that the levels of violent crime in a city are not linked to the levels of killings by police. The rate at which the police kills PoC varies greatly between cities. In Chicago, for example, police killed Black people at a rate 22x that of white people. Only in 3 of the 50 largest U.S. cities was there no anti-Black disparity in police killings between 2013 and 2018.

According to Police Chief, Tim Gannon, the responsible officer was attempting to use her taser but drew her firearm by mistake. Both resigned on Tuesday. Kim Potter, the police officer who killed Wright, has since been charged with 2nd-degree manslaughter. She faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000. Her first trial will take place on Thursday via Zoom.

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Authors

Jeremy Connor

Geboren 1994 in den USA. Seit 2020 Redakteur bei KATAPULT. Zuvor Studium der Musik und Linguistik/Germanistik an der University of Alabama. Teamleiter von @katapultmaps.

Jasemin Uysal

Geboren 1992, seit 2020 Redakteurin bei KATAPULT. Zuvor Studium der English-Studies, Linguistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft in Köln und Amsterdam. Zusammen mit Jeremy Connor hauptverantwortlich für @katapultmaps.

Translators

“Most people who I know left or are about to leave the country“

Last Thursday the KATAPULT had the chance to speak to a young woman in Russia about the situation inside the country. Originally it was planned as a video-interview. However the newest regulations in Russia which suppress the freedom of press and punish the spreading of information against the government are punishable with a prison sentence of up to 15 years. That’s why the interview will now be published as completely anonymized text. The photos were sent by the interviewee. Her name and hometown has been verified by KATAPULT.