POLICE INTEGRITY LOST

There have been 83 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers with the general powers of arrest (e.g., police officers, deputy sheriffs, state troopers, etc.) who have been arrested for murder or manslaughter resulting from an on-duty shooting where the officer shot and killed someone since the beginning of 2005. Of those 83 officers, to date only 30 have been convicted of a crime resulting from the on-duty shooting (14 by guilty plea, 16 by jury trial, and none by a bench trial).

In the cases where an officer has been convicted, it is often for a lesser offense. Only 5 officers have been convicted of murder (in four of those cases the murder convictions were overturned, but the officers were later convicted of federal crimes arising out of the same incident). As to the other officers, 11 were convicted of manslaughter, 4 were convicted of voluntary manslaughter, 6 were convicted of involuntary manslaughter, 2 were convicted of official misconduct, 1 was convicted of reckless homicide, and 1 was convicted of federal criminal deprivation of civil rights.

The criminal cases for 38 of the officers ended in a non-conviction: 20 were acquitted at a jury trial, 7 were acquitted at a bench trial, 4 were dismissed by a judge, 6 were dismissed by a prosecutor, and in one instance no true bill was returned from a grand jury. The criminal cases for 15 of the officers are still pending today.

Location by state of officers arrested for murder or manslaughter resulting from on-duty shootings:
2 – Alabama
4 – Arkansas
2 – Arizona
3 – California
2 – Colorado
1 – Connecticut
3 – Florida
6 – Georgia
1 – Illinois
1 – Indiana
1 – Kentucky
10 – Louisiana
1 – Maryland
2 – Michigan
1 – Minnesota
3 – Missouri
3 – Mississippi
2 – North Carolina
1 – New Jersey
2 – New Mexico
6 – New York
5 – Ohio
4 – Oklahoma
1 – Pennsylvania
4 – South Carolina
1 – Tennessee
4 – Texas
1 – Utah
4 – Virginia
1 – Washington
1 – Wisconsin

Location by state of officers who were convicted:
1 – Alabama
2 – Arkansas
1 – Arizona
2 – California
1 – Colorado
3 – Georgia
1 – Kentucky
7 – Louisiana
1 – Missouri
1 – New York
3 – Oklahoma
3 – South Carolina
1 – Tennessee
3 – Virginia

Location by state of officers who were not convicted:
2 – Arkansas
1 – Colorado
1 – Connecticut
1 – Florida
1 – Georgia
1 – Indiana
2 – Louisiana
1 – Maryland
2 – Michigan
1 – Minnesota
1 – Missouri
1 – Mississippi
2 – North Carolina
1 – New Jersey
2 – New Mexico
4 – New York
5 – Ohio
1 – Oklahoma
1 – Pennsylvania
1 – South Carolina
2 – Texas
1 – Utah
1 – Virginia
1 – Washington
1 – Wisconsin