Former police officer goes on trial for killing unarmed 15-year-old
Originally posted in The Washington Post.
The Washington Post quotes CJCJ’s Senior Research Fellow Mike Males in an article on the impact and prevalence of police shootings during the trial of an officer in Dallas.
From the article:
Based on reports filed with the Texas Attorney General’s office, there have been 30 people under the age of 18 fatally shot by law enforcement since 2005. Edwards is among the youngest killed, although a 6‑year-old and three infants are part of that count.
Nationally, law enforcement officers have killed nearly a dozen 15-year-olds since 2015, based on data compiled by The Washington Post. During that same period, police also fatally shot two 6‑year-olds, a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old and two 14-year-olds.
“It’s a pretty significant event when a juvenile is shot by police,” said Mike A. Males, a senior researcher at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.