America's crime record
Police
People killed by police (death certificates)
814
deaths, 2024 · Up 11% from 2023
Rate 2.4, about 1 in 420K residents
Timeline
Deaths whose death certificate gives legal intervention as the cause: injuries inflicted by police or other law enforcement on duty, with executions left out.
Source and method
Certifiers miss many of these deaths, and CDC hides every group of 1 to 9, so this is a floor; it runs about half of Mapping Police Violence's count.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death · Calendar year · 1999 to 2024
- 2013 onThe Mapping Police Violence dataset and the CDC WONDER deaths by legal intervention count the same kind of event and are kept apart: never merged, added, or used to fill each other's years. People killed by police are two series, never added or adjusted to each other: death certificates catch about half of MPV's count.
- 2015–2024The Washington Post Fatal Force database, v2 and the Mapping Police Violence dataset count the same kind of event and are kept apart: never merged, added, or used to fill each other's years. The Post counts only people shot by on-duty officers and stopped after 2024; Mapping Police Violence counts every killing and still runs.
- 2015–2024The Washington Post Fatal Force database, v2 and the CDC WONDER deaths by legal intervention count the same kind of event and are kept apart: never merged, added, or used to fill each other's years. The Post's shootings and death certificates coded to legal intervention are separate counts.
Breakdown
Deaths by race and hispanic origin, 2024
| White+MENAMiddle Eastern or North African | 43%349 | 349 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 24%191 | 191 | |
| Hispanic | 22%177 | 177 | |
| CDC hidden (groups of 1 to 9) | 9%69 | 69 | |
| AIANAmerican Indian or Alaska Native | 2%16 | 16 | |
| Race unknown | 2%12 | 12 |
All 814 deaths in 2024; 69 sit in groups CDC hides, so every share is of the full total. Single race as the Census counts it, each race leaving out Hispanic people; more than one race counts with race unknown (decision two-or-more-out-not-hispanic). Death certificates, race as the funeral director records it; AIAN deaths are known to be undercounted.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death
Every figure as a table
People killed by police (death certificates), deaths, by year
| Year | Count | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 814 | 2.4 | |
| 2023 | 734 | 2.2 | |
| 2022 | 785 | 2.4 | |
| 2021 | 653 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 761 | 2.3 | |
| 2019 | 629 | 1.9 | |
| 2018 | 585 | 1.8 | |
| 2017 | 584 | 1.8 | |
| 2016 | 524 | 1.6 | |
| 2015 | 500 | 1.6 | |
| 2014 | 476 | 1.5 | |
| 2013 | 467 | 1.5 | |
| 2012 | 501 | 1.6 | |
| 2011 | 454 | 1.5 | |
| 2010 | 361 | 1.2 | |
| 2009 | 343 | 1.1 | |
| 2008 | 340 | 1.1 | |
| 2007 | 366 | 1.2 | |
| 2006 | 380 | 1.3 | |
| 2005 | 352 | 1.2 | |
| 2004 | 311 | 1.1 | |
| 2003 | 360 | 1.2 | |
| 2002 | 315 | 1.1 | |
| 2001 | 323 | 1.1 | |
| 2000 | 270 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 299 | 1.1 |
Rate: People per 1 million residents of the United States that year (Census Bureau estimates). Per million, not per 100,000 as elsewhere on this page, since these are rare.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death · Calendar year
People killed by police (death certificates): deaths per 1 million people in each group, by race, by year
| Year | White+MENA | Black | Hispanic | Asian | AIAN | Asian+NHPI | Share with race or Hispanic origin not stated, or CDC hidden |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.8 | 4.6 | 2.6 | – | 6.8 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 10% |
| 2023 | 1.8 | 4 | 2.3 | – | 6.9 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 8% |
| 2022 | 1.8 | 4.3 | 2.4 | – | 12 | – | 10% |
| 2021 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 2.1 | – | 5.6 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 7% |
| 2020 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 2.3 | – | 7 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 10% |
| 2019 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 0.8 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 8.3 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 9% |
| 2018 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.1 | 0.5 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 6.1 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 5% |
| 2017 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 1.7 | – | 9.2 | 0.7 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 4% |
| 2016 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.4 | – | 7.9 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 0.6 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 5% |
| 2015 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 1.5 | – | – | 0.7 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 8% |
| 2014 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.6 | – | 4.4 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | – | 7% |
| 2013 | 1.2 | 3.2 | 1.4 | – | – | 0.6 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 4% |
| 2012 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.8 | – | 4.4 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 0.6 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 8% |
| 2011 | 1.1 | 3 | 1.7 | – | – | 0.8 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 6% |
| 2010 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.3 | – | – | 0.7 (fewer than 20 cases; the rate may swing a lot.) | 9% |
The Rate view's race lines, from 2010. Each group's line is its deaths per 1 million people in the group. CDC hides groups of 1 to 9. Single race as the Census counts it, each race leaving out Hispanic people; more than one race counts with race unknown (decision two-or-more-out-not-hispanic). Death certificates, race as the funeral director records it; AIAN deaths are known to be undercounted.
– means no rate: a group the source does not count apart that year, or no people to divide by. People whose race is not known are in no group's rate, so each rate is a floor.
Grey: fewer than 20 cases.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death; Census Bureau population estimates
Deaths by race and hispanic origin, 2024
| Race and Hispanic origin | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White+MENA | 349 | 43% |
| Black | 191 | 24% |
| Hispanic | 177 | 22% |
| CDC hidden (groups of 1 to 9) | 69 | 9% |
| AIAN | 16 | 2% |
| Race unknown | 12 | 2% |
Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. White+MENA includes Middle Eastern and North African people.
All 814 deaths in 2024; 69 sit in groups CDC hides, so every share is of the full total. Single race as the Census counts it, each race leaving out Hispanic people; more than one race counts with race unknown (decision two-or-more-out-not-hispanic). Death certificates, race as the funeral director records it; AIAN deaths are known to be undercounted.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death
Deaths by sex, 2024
| Sex | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 733 | 90% |
| CDC hidden (groups of 1 to 9) | 69 | 9% |
| Female | 12 | 2% |
All 814 deaths in 2024; 69 sit in groups CDC hides, so every share is of the full total.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death
Deaths by age, 2024
| Age | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| CDC hidden (groups of 1 to 9) | 60 | 7% |
| 15-24 years | 106 | 13% |
| 25-34 years | 208 | 26% |
| 35-44 years | 255 | 31% |
| 45-54 years | 119 | 15% |
| 55-64 years | 46 | 6% |
| 65-74 years | 20 | 3% |
All 814 deaths in 2024; 60 sit in groups CDC hides, so every share is of the full total.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death
Deaths by means, 2024
| Means | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Firearm | 636 | 78% |
| Other specified means | 178 | 22% |
All 814 deaths in 2024. Means CDC hides (1 to 9 deaths each) are left out here and from the total.
CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death