Police Shootings Up in 2011

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 25, 2011 2:45PM

Police shootings are up in 2011. Way up, according to numbers obtained by the Sun-Times. As of June 30, police have shot 40 suspected criminals; 16 of those shootings have been fatal.

The total number of police shootings is nearly equal to the number last year. Police shot and killed 13 suspects in all of 2010. Police Review Authority director Ilana Rosenzweig said it's too early to tell what's causing the spike. But a police officer lays the blame at the feet of bolder breed of criminal.

Officer Danny O'Toole - who killed a suspect in 2009, tells the Sun-Times, “the younger generation is brazen, they just don’t care. It’s ‘shoot at the police and make my escape.’ And we shoot back.”

Police also cite statistics showing an increase increase in aggravated assaults and batteries against them in the past decade as a sign that suspects are more emboldened to act against them. as of June 30, 786 reported cases of aggravated battery and assault on a police officer have been reported.

Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden concurred with O'Toole's assessment and added that a shortage of police officers on the streets is also a contributing factor. “Trust me, when you have more visibility, when you have more two-man cars, this kind of thing doesn’t happen as much,” he said.

CeaseFire's Tio Hardiman said that police may also be partly to blame, believing they're too quick with their fingers on the trigger, and need to do a better job of learning to communicate with youth on the street. “You have this ‘license to kill’ mindset,” Hardiman said. “The mindset is: ‘We are going to get the crime down no matter what it takes.’ ”