Justice

The Problem With Research on Racial Bias and Police Shootings

Despite new research on police brutality, we still have no idea whether violence toward African Americans is fueled by racial prejudice. That has consequences.
Protesters recreate the chalk body outline from the crime scene of the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was convicted of murder for McDonald's death.Max Herman/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Last September, Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald, a longtime foe of police reform, testified before a U.S. congressional committee that the reported “epidemic of racially biased police shootings of black men” is false.

In fact, “if there is a bias in police shootings, it is against white civilians,” she said, citing a recent study released by the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).