# What exactly do cops have to fear from black males? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819 "2014-10-09T02:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/21 "2014-10-10T19:43:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > White guys aren’t arrested for murder, or the “usual suspects” are Black guys? I was leaning towards the latter. I don’t think white people are murder-rap-teflon unless they’re also rich. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/22 "2014-10-10T19:43:06Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > No, they’re about four times as likely to be _arrested_ for murder. That’s a significant difference. Well, here’s a little more of the article: > [@](#): > > Black people account for a disproportionate share of arrests for violent crime — in 2012, 49 percent of murder arrests, 55 percent of robberies, 34 percent of aggravated assaults, and so on. Does that reflect unfair targeting by police? Not likely. According to a Justice Department study, 47 percent of murder victims between 1980 and 2008 were black, and 93 percent of black victims were killed by other blacks. Nobody can seriously claim those numbers were cooked. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/23 "2014-10-10T20:02:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Do they have grip safeties, like the 1914A? No. These days integrated trigger safeties that make it much more difficult to pull the trigger unintentionally are more common. There are also firing pin safeties that won’t allow it to strike the primer unless the trigger was pulled. Passive safeties that don’t require extra steps in a heated moment are seen as much more practical. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/24 "2014-10-10T20:09:39Z")
What are the statistics concerning black police officers? Are black police officers more likely to shoot or otherwise get into conflict with black citizens? Are there a disproportionate number of complaints against balck vs. white officers? And please don’t start telling me but, but but they’re influenced by the white culture of the police force:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/25 "2014-10-10T20:29:34Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [Um…something like this?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGmbUXqHPk4&list=RDGGmbUXqHPk4#t=40) Yes. Every black man is a potential Eazy-E. :rolleyes: And all white men are likely to be like Fred Rodgers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/26 "2014-10-10T20:39:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Do they have grip safeties, like the 1914A? 1914A? That’s a pretty rare model. Wasn’t it used in Sweden or Norway or someplace like that? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/27 "2014-10-10T20:47:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The OP might gain insight from a series of ride-alongs with police officers during shifts in high-crime areas. And learn what? That the cops harass people all day for no reason other than seeming “suspicious”? That their pointless little stops almost entirely fail to turn up anything? ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/28 "2014-10-10T21:09:46Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I think [Cecil’s last column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3180/what-s-the-racial-breakdown-of-people-killed-by-cops) should answer that. > So black men are about four times as likely to be murderers as the general population. Shouldn’t this be a valid concern to a police officer? So let’s say I buy those stats without question. It would also mean the average White cop has almost nothing to fear given Black usually kill other Blacks, right? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/29 "2014-10-10T21:11:48Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Yes. Every black man is a potential Eazy-E. :rolleyes: And all white men are likely to be like Fred Rodgers. It’s funny that **msmith** went there with NWA because Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are quite mainstream and darn right respectable now. If a police officer shot Ice Cube right now, even Donald Trump would be marching in protest. What a difference twenty years makes. People have been excusing racial disparaties for centuries. When black men were being lynched, the same voices were saying that if black guys stopped getting in trouble so much, they would avoid the noose. And this happened when black criminality was much less than it is now. Yes, there are black people who have given up and turned to criminality. But are these “individual choices”, or reactions to centuries of the same BULLSHIT. If cops are going to assume I’m a criminal anyway, what’s my motivation to be law-abiding? If people are able to watch a video of me being harrassed and terrorized in my own community and all they can do is moralize about my baggy jeans and use of AAVE, then why should I care about those people’s property or _their_ lives. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/30 "2014-10-10T21:28:17Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 1914A? That’s a pretty rare model. Wasn’t it used in Sweden or Norway or someplace like that? Ah, hell… 1911A. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/31 "2014-10-10T21:40:37Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > So let’s say I buy those stats without question. It would also mean the average White cop has almost nothing to fear given Black usually kill other Blacks, right? I’d think that a murderer is more dangerous to a cop than a non-murderer, regardless of color. Of course, we do have to keep all of this in perspective. Even if black males are four times more likely to be violent criminals, that’s still a pretty small percentage of the population. It is the empirical evidence that the OP asks for - yes, there is a real danger - but it’s not sufficient for a presumption of guilt. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/32 "2014-10-10T21:54:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Ah, hell… > 1911A. > :rolleyes: There was a [1914](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongsberg_Colt), and just like I thought it was used in Norway. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/33 "2014-10-10T21:59:51Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > There was a [1914](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongsberg_Colt), and just like I thought it was used in Norway. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/34 "2014-10-10T22:29:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It’s funny that **msmith** went there with NWA because Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are quite mainstream and darn right respectable now. If a police officer shot Ice Cube right now, even Donald Trump would be marching in protest. What a difference twenty years makes. The past three movies I’ve seen Ice Cube in, he’s played a cop. Hell, most people now know Ice-T as a long time cop on Law & Order rather than from his controversial late 80s rapcore song “Cop Killer” . ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/35 "2014-10-10T22:56:05Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > So let’s say I buy those stats without question. It would also mean the average White cop has almost nothing to fear given Black usually kill other Blacks, right? No it would mean responding to those deadly situations in addition to interacting with same on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/36 "2014-10-10T23:14:50Z")
Young black men are [21 times more likely](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/racial-disparity-police-shootings) to be killed by police than young white men. That’s a pretty remarkable statistic. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/37 "2014-10-11T02:47:43Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Young black men are [21 times more likely](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/racial-disparity-police-shootings) to be killed by police than young white men. That’s a pretty remarkable statistic. Would you agree that we can’t pick and choose which statistics we use? Black people are without a doubt in more danger during interactions with the police than non-blacks. It’s also without a doubt true that black men commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes. I don’t have the answer to this, but somebody who doesn’t take both these sets of facts seriously can be tuned out IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/38 "2014-10-11T02:49:49Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > People have been excusing racial disparaties for centuries. When black men were being lynched, the same voices were saying that if black guys stopped getting in trouble so much, they would avoid the noose. And this happened when black criminality was much less than it is now. > > Yes, there are black people who have given up and turned to criminality. But are these “individual choices”, or reactions to centuries of the same BULLSHIT. If cops are going to assume I’m a criminal anyway, what’s my motivation to be law-abiding? If people are able to watch a video of me being harrassed and terrorized in my own community and all they can do is moralize about my baggy jeans and use of AAVE, then why should I care about those people’s property or _their_ lives. I can’t imagine a typical police officer is inclined to care precisely _why_ somebody is a threat at a given time, especially when they’re in a violent situation. It behooves us as a society to figure out what the issue is and try to remedy it, but that’s not going to happen during a traffic stop. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/39 "2014-10-11T02:59:38Z")
We seem to have more serious discussion in this thread rather than the usual cursing and screaming at each other. What went wrong? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819/40 "2014-10-11T12:05:43Z")
> [@Waymore](#): > > Black people are without a doubt in more danger during interactions with the police than non-blacks. Right – young black men, apparently, are in 21 times more danger than young white men. That’s a remarkable difference. > [@](#): > > It’s also without a doubt true that black men commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes. Do young black men commit 21 times more crime than young white men? I’m pretty sure the answer is no. > [@](#): > > I don’t have the answer to this, but somebody who doesn’t take both these sets of facts seriously can be tuned out IMHO. Who doesn’t take both sets of facts seriously? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-do-cops-have-to-fear-from-black-males/700819.md?page=3)