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Police Violence Deaths Are Twice As High As Official U.S. Count, Study Finds

Researchers estimate 30,800 people have been killed by police from 1980 to 2018 — far more than government data has captured. 

People kneel in front of candles during a vigil for George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2021. Floyd’s death might not have been captured as police violence under official methods of counting. 

People kneel in front of candles during a vigil for George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2021. Floyd’s death might not have been captured as police violence under official methods of counting. 

Photographer: Tim Evans/Bloomberg
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More men died of police violence than of testicular cancer, or lymphoma, or STDs in the U.S. in 2019. Depending on where you get your information, that could come as a surprise, or a grave confirmation.

A new study published in The Lancet found that a government-run database has undercounted the number of deaths at the hands of police in the U.S. by more than half.