New ACLU Report Shows Despite COVID-19, Fatal Police Shootings Continue in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS — A new ACLU report, “The Other Epidemic: Fatal Police Shootings in the Time of COVID-19,” finds that fatal shootings by police in Louisiana have continued unabated despite the pandemic. The report finds that fatal shootings by police are so routine that, even during a national pandemic, with far fewer people traveling outside of their homes, police have continued to fatally shoot people at the same rate so far in 2020 as they did in the same period from 2015 to 2019. Further, the analysis reveals that Black, Native American/Indigenous, and Latinx people are still more likely than white people to be killed by police. 

“These findings confirm that police violence is not situational, it is endemic – and policing in Louisiana is no exception. Despite a once in a lifetime public health crisis that has caused a decrease in physical interaction, police still manage to kill people at the same rate as before the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Alanah Odoms Hebert, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “In addition to comprehensive reforms to reduce the use of force, it is long past time to reimagine the role of policing in our communities. At the ACLU of Louisiana, we are undertaking a sweeping effort to challenge racist policing practices that fuel this cycle of violence and impunity. We encourage anyone who has had a negative race-based interaction with the police to come forward as a potential plaintiff and help us challenge these abuses.”  

Key findings of the report include:

• As of June 30, 2020, police officers had fatally shot 511 people nationally and 10 people in Louisiana so far this year. That rate is consistent with the average 10 people killed by police in Louisiana during the same time period from 2015 – 2019. 
• As a proportion of the population, Louisiana’s rate of death by police shootings over the last five years is 2.14 per million – the 13th highest in the country (see table below).
• Nationally, approximately 46 percent of fatal police shootings kill white people, who account for roughly 60 percent of the U.S. population. Another 24 percent of fatal police shootings kill Black people, who account for about 13 percent of the U.S. population.

Because of stay-at-home orders, social distancing requirements, and police department policies advising officers to initiate fewer investigative contacts, we might have expected fewer fatal police shootings in 2020 relative to years past. This number is consistent with each of the previous five years for which we have data — a surprising outcome given the significant societal disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Earlier this year, the ACLU of Louisiana launched Justice Lab: Putting Racist Policing on Trial. Through direct legal representation and community advocacy, Justice Lab aims to create a partnership among directly-impacted people, communities, private law firms, and legal clinics to challenge racially discriminatory policing practices in Louisiana. The initiative seeks to empower directly-impacted families and communities in taking on this fight.

Justice Lab is currently seeking potential plaintiffs to come forward to challenge racist and unconstitutional police practices. People who have had negative race-based interactions with the police are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab at justicelab@laaclu.org or call (504) 522-0628 and leave a message.