Monday, October 5, 2015

Sheriff Bradshaw, PBSO, and THE LINE OF FIRE: Analyzing the data—what the number 252 really means

[It won't be long now before THE LINE OF FIRE gets rolled out once again. Sheriff Bradshaw is up for re-election and the Post likely has everything ready to go just waiting for the right time.]
Seems like so long ago. . .
You have to admit, LINE OF FIRE: BULLETS, BADGES, AND DEATH ON THE STREET! is a catchy line.

The number 252 was used a lot by Lawrence Mower at The Palm Beach Post and Katie LaGrone at NBC5/WPTV. And many people are believing falsely that 252 is the number of people who have been shot at by a PBSO deputy. Not even close.

The number 252 is the number of times a deputy or police officer fired his weapon during an incident in Palm Beach County AND the Treasure Coast. Here is an excerpt from The Palm Beach Post:
In an unrivaled look at police shootings in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast since 2000, The Palm Beach Post and WPTV NewsChannel 5 detail more than 250 incidents of officers firing guns. The shootings killed 86 people and wounded 97.
Here are the categories the discharge of a weapon by officers fall in to:
  • Unknown
  • No injuries
  • Injured
  • Fatal
Since 2000 the number of people fatally shot by a PBSO deputy who was "shielded" by his badge: 45. Since Sheriff Bradshaw was sworn into office in 2005? 37. The number of Blacks fatally shot: 12 since 2005. That number is statistically higher than the Black population which hovers about 20%. The reason for that number is a subject of debate and not the reason for this blog post. The numbers are what they are.
You can search the data yourself using this link of shootings by deputies who were "shielded" by their badges. (Note: there is no data for 2015.)
Below you can see how massive the area/population PBSO serves and the number of deputies who are "shielded" by badges:
The number '45' is misleading. These numbers start from 2000. Sheriff Bradshaw wasn't sworn in until 2005. 
Now things get interesting. The City of Lake Worth you would think having the reputation for crime it once had would have had many fatal shootings by PBSO. FALSE. Since 2009 there have been 3 fatal shootings. How many Blacks? 0. 

So the next time you see former Lake Worth Commissioner Cara Jennings wearing her "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt you can say she is absolutely right. They do. They matter as much as everyone else's life, including the law enforcement officers who are tasked with protecting her and her Anarchist friends: