New data from the non-profit organization Mapping Police Violence shows that police officers in the United States have continued to kill people at the same rates since the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. In fact, the organization’s data shows that police officers in the United States have killed people at consistent and similar rates in the past decade—killing roughly 3 people per day nationwide.
This shows that despite the massive protests against police brutality and racism that have gone on since Floyd’s murder, no progress has been made to reduce police killings in the U.S. In response to the protests, politicians promised us they were committed to systemic police reform, with some even going as far as saying they supported defunding the police to help reduce the killings.
These turned out to be empty words. Little has been done while the rate of police killings has remained the same. And many of these politicians have changed their tune now that the pressure of the George Floyd movement has died down. Joe Biden has consistently said throughout his presidency that he supports greater funding for the police.
In a little over two years since the murder of Floyd, we see that not much has changed in terms of the statistics or the willingness of the people in power to make change. They have no interest in changing, as they benefit from this society which uses police violence to intimidate the population and maintain a society based on deep inequality.
Until we end capitalism, these things won’t change in significant ways. What has changed, however, is the consciousness of the people who participated in the George Floyd protests and other struggles against police brutality. In these struggles, people have begun to feel their power. We will need to build on this and channel this energy as we continue to fight to end the system of capitalism. Only then will police violence become a thing of the past.
