Contrary to the impression you get from mainstream news, cops kill more white folks than they do black folks, at least in absolute numbers. This leads me to suspect that there's more going on than racism.
I think we have to look at cop culture. A police officer in Minneapolis makes about $60k, roughly double the average income in the city. Police recruits, regardless of race or gender, come predominantly from working class/lower middle class backgrounds. They know they've got a good gig, all things considered, and they want to keep it. They want to be part of the team.
Therein lies the problem. It's not that easy to get on the team. There's competition. Everybody wants to be the buffest and the toughest. There's a well documented steroid culture in police training academies. Overwhelming aggression is the preferred method of dealing with resistance. A guy in the throes of roid rage is liable to interpret virtually anything as "resistance."
And then people die.
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