Read on Twitter
Police kill more people per capita in the Mountain West than anywhere else in the nation. So for the past few months our bureau has been digging into the data. THREAD https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/topic/elevated-risk-police-violence-mountain-west#stream/0
New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Montana all rank in the top ten.
There are a lot of theories as to why this is, but the most common one boils down to this: We own a lot of guns. We also have a high prevalence of mental health issues + poor access to services. https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/mountain-west-has-highest-rate-people-killed-police-nation
But race also plays a role. Indigenous people are among the highest risk groups in the Mountain West for police violence, according to reporting from our Indigenous affairs reporter @savannah_maher https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/montana-family-speaks-out-about-police-violence-against-indigenous-people#stream/0
Training is also a big factor. The U.S. doesn't have a mandatory, nationalized training program for police officers. We also have loose gun laws. That's part of what separates us from Canada, where you are five times less likely to be killed by police. https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/canadians-are-much-less-likely-be-killed-police-gun-laws-are-big-reason-why
Robust training + strict policies on when officers can use force helped Moses Lake, WA retain some of the lowest fatal encounter rates in the country. "A lot of cops could take a page out of their book at how to handle people," says a local BLM activist. https://tinyurl.com/yy4dlm7w
We also need to look at the prevalence of PTSD and other stress-related disorders among police officers themselves, as @MadelynBeck8 found out during her conversations with former law enforcement officers. https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/outside-looking-what-former-officers-think-could-improve-policing
If you want to dive into the data yourself, our awesome data reporter Jordan Wirfs-Brock built this interactive map: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/4702279/
