Colorado ranks second for rate of Latinos killed by police

• But little data exists on how police violence affects Latinos, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
• Latinos killed by law enforcement nationwide hit .26 per 100,000 residents in 2020, up from .18 in 2011 nationwide, a study published last month in the Journal of Community Health found.

Zoom in: Denver police's critical incident dashboard shows its officers disproportionately shoot Hispanic residents, who comprise about 29% of the city's population.

• Since 2015, 47% of people shot by Denver police have been Latino. Most of those incidents were fatal.
• The department called the number of Hispanic people shot by the agency "alarming" in a statement to Axios last Friday, adding its officers' goals are to "de-escalate encounters to minimize use of deadly force."
• "Suspect’s behaviors — regardless of race — dictate how officers respond," DPD said.

What they're saying: "I just don’t get how Denver can have a whole operation that left my son dead," April Sanchez, whose son, Ryan Ronquillo, was fatally shot by Denver police in 2014, tells us.

• Sanchez said she wants to see more transparency from the agency. She struggled to get details, like dispatch calls and surveillance footage, shortly after Ronquillo was shot.

What we're hearing: "I'm glad they're acknowledging it's alarming now — we raised that alarm years ago," former Denver mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón tells us.

• Calderón has advocated alongside families of people fatally shot by Denver police for years, noting the 2015 shooting of Jessica Hernandez prompted more attention on these incidents.
• Sanchez and Calderón have pushed for more accountability for officers who use force. Calderón says a "fresh start" for police leadership is needed.

Zoom out: Police in Colorado have killed at least 18 people so far this year, and two have been Latinos, according to Mapping Police Violence, which tracks shootings.