Fryer’s qualifications for conducting his study are substantial. He is, according to The New York Times, the youngest African-American to receive tenure at Harvard and the first to win a John Bates Clark medal given to the most promising American economist under the age of 40.
And, like most black Americans, he was angered by the shootings. Still, as he told The Times, “You know, protesting is not my thing. But data is my thing. So I decided that I was going to collect a bunch of data and try to understand what really was going on when it comes to racial differences in police use of force.”
So he and his research assistants examined 1,322 shootings in 10 cities between 2000 and 2015. What they found was plenty of racial bias. Blacks are far more likely to be roughed up, pushed against a wall, hand-cuffed or pepper sprayed, the study confirmed.
“Every black man I know has had this experience,” Fryer said. “Every one of them.”
But, despite generally-held perceptions, the statistical fact is that blacks are NOT more likely than whites to shot at by a police officer, he found. In Houston, for one example, blacks are 22 percent LESS likely than whites to be shot at.
It will, of course, take a lot more than research by one Harvard professor, no matter how qualified, to change the opinions and biases on both sides of the issue being spouted by the shouting heads on television, average Americans on social media and protestors in the streets.
But even in the most heated argument, there should be room for a little light.
About the Author