• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
LeadershipraceAhead

Here’s What New Shooting Data Doesn’t Tell You About Police Violence

By
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 11, 2016, 6:45 PM ET
Protesters March Over Death Of Freddie Gray
Photograph by Chip Somodevilla — Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The results of a new Harvard University study on racial bias in policing released this morning is already making headlines, but for all the wrong reasons.

The New York Times published a story today on the findings of the study, which was done by Roland G. Fryer, a recipient of the John Bates Medal, the top award given to young economists.

Fryer’s work analyzed thousands of police reports from a sample of U.S. cities. The reports, which were written by officers from 2000 to 2015, showed no police bias in the shootings of black suspects compared to white ones. That’s problem No. 1 with the data, which Fryer admits is limited, but there was no easy way to get access to reports from victims, or witnesses.

Problem No. 2: It’s only the shootings data that shows a lack of racial bias. Look beyond shootings, and even the self-reported data from police departments shows that officers have a stronger propensity to use physical force with African Americans than their white counterparts.

For example, the study shows police are 24% more likely to point their guns, 25% more likely to use pepper spray or a baton, and 18% more likely to push a an individual to the ground if the suspect is a black person rather than a white person.

Nonetheless, with police involved shootings making headlines last week, early media reports on the study like the Times‘ report focused strongly on the shooting category, and the lack of bias.

The Times story emphasized its “surprising” results on lack of shooting bias. The story was quickly picked up by conservative media outlets like Drudge Report and Fox News insider, which ran the headline “Harvard Economist’s Study Finds No Racial Bias in Police Shootings” above a graphic from Fryer’s study showing racial bias against blacks in every other use of force category.

In an interview with Fortune, Fryer says these misleading reports are “unfortunate,” pointing out that many high profile fatal encounters involving blacks and police—people like Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Barbara Dawson, and Freddie Gray, for example – did not involve guns.

“One of the things I worried about was people were going to take the shooting results and pay less attention to the lower level uses of force,” Fryer tells Fortune. “These lower level uses of force happen thousands of times per day. Who would want that to happen?”

In 2015, the UK-based newspaper The Guardian started its own comprehensive study on police killings in America, simply called “The Counted,” since U.S. Crime stats failed to keep track of police involved civilian deaths.

The analysis found 1,146 people died as a result of police interaction in that year alone. It also revealed blacks were 2.48 times more likely to die in police custody than whites even though blacks are only about 12% of the U.S. population. So far this year, 571 people died or were killed in U.S. police interactions and blacks were about 2.31 times more likely to be one of them than their white counterparts, according to the Guardian, which has continued to update its numbers.

And Fryer isn’t done investigating the issue, either. “What I hope comes of this is we can sit down months from now with data from Chicago and other places across the country and come up with a better and more transparent sense of what the truth looks like in terms of racial differences in use of force,” says Fryer.

About the Author
By Chauncey L. Alcorn
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Matt Garman
Successthe future of work
Amazon exec says AI won’t wipe out white-collar jobs—and is hiring 11,000 grads and interns, and has more developers than 2 years ago to prove it
By Preston ForeJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
t
CommentaryWhite House
Trump mistakes the bully pulpit for bullying leadership — history’s villains were never heroes
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven TianJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
mg
CommentaryHealth
The ‘tech neck’ time bomb: why 43 million young Americans could cripple U.S. health care within a generation
By Michael GerlingJune 24, 2026
6 hours ago
Sarah Youngwood, EVP and CFO at Nasdaq.
C-SuiteFinance
Inside Nasdaq CFO Sarah Youngwood’s AI playbook
By Sheryl EstradaJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Business is moving past the tech bro era and learning to value ‘real people, real places’
NewslettersCEO Daily
Business is moving past the tech bro era and learning to value ‘real people, real places’
By Diane BradyJune 24, 2026
8 hours ago
Now she’s worth $200 million—and Sarah Jessica Parker thanks being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
SuccessCareer Advice
Now she’s worth $200 million—and Sarah Jessica Parker thanks being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.