New data shows Denver's deadliest ZIP codes for police killings
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At least 426 people have been killed by law enforcement in Colorado since 2013, including 69 in Denver, according to new data released by the advocacy group Campaign Zero.
Why it matters: The data from Campaign Zero's "Mapping Police Violence" project not only shows a surge in killings by law enforcement in Colorado and nationwide, but specifically where they're happening.
Zoom in: Campaign Zero data shows Denver's deadliest neighborhoods for police killings between 2013 and July 2024 were in these ZIP codes:
- 80204 (9 killings): The central part of the city, which includes the Golden Triangle, parts of Lincoln Park, and the Santa Fe Arts District.
- 80211 (8): Northwest of downtown, and home to the Highland, Sunnyside and Jefferson Park neighborhoods.
- 80221 (8): In the northwestern part of the metro, covering parts of unincorporated Adams County and a small portion of Denver.
- 80219 (6): In southwestern Denver and includes Westwood and Harvey Park.
- 80220 (6): In the eastern part of the city and includes the Montclair, Mayfair, and Hale neighborhoods, and parts of Park Hill and East Colfax.
- 80216 (6): Encompassing the Elyria-Swansea and Globeville neighborhoods, and part of the River North Art District.
What they did: Campaign Zero tallied deaths by aggregating data from local and state agencies, as well as media sources to fill in gaps where government data was missing.
- The data includes both fatal police shootings and other deaths caused by officers, like being struck and killed by a law enforcement vehicle.
Zoom out: 47 people were killed by a Colorado police officer in 2023, more than double the 21 people killed in 2013 and not far from the peak of 51 in 2018.
- The project also found that Native American and Black people in Colorado are about four times more likely to be killed than white people.
- Only a handful of the deaths in Colorado have resulted in criminal charges against the officers, according to the database.
The latest: So far, incidents of lethal force by Colorado law enforcement are down this year compared to the same period in 2023, Campaign Zero data shows.
- Police have killed at least 22 people statewide as of July, 10 fewer compared to the same period last year.
- Fatalities are also trending down in Denver. Two police killings have happened so far compared to four this time last year.
What they're saying: Denver Police Department spokesperson Doug Schepman told us: "There are not significant changes to operations or training that the Department can point to as reasons for the decrease."
- He added: "The number one goal ... is to resolve the situation safely for everyone involved."
The big picture: Campaign Zero data shows nearly 13,400 people have been killed by law enforcement in the United States since 2013 — around 7% of the nation's homicides, Axios' Russell Contreras and Delano Massey write.
- Meanwhile, Black people in the U.S. were 2.9 times more likely than the general population to be killed by law enforcement in the past decade-plus, the advocacy group found.