National

Police shot and killed at least 1,055 people across the U.S. last year, up from 1,021 in 2020, according to the Washington Post's database of fatal police shootings.

Why it matters: Despite the renewed focus on police brutality and calls for reform, it's the highest number recorded by the Post, which began tracking fatal police shootings in the line of duty in 2015. 

Police kill Black Americans at much higher rates than white Americans, per the Post's analysis. Over 95% are men and more than half are from 20 to 40 years old.

New Mexico, Alaska and Oklahoma see the highest rates of shootings.

Worth noting: The number of total fatal shootings has hovered around 1,000 for years. 2021's total is within 60 of the average.

"Probability theory may offer an explanation," the Post notes. "It holds that the quantity of rare events in huge populations tends to remain stable absent major societal changes, such as a fundamental shift in police culture or extreme restrictions on gun ownership."

WashPost: 2021 a record year for fatal police killings

Police shot and killed at least 1,055 people across the U.S. last year, up from 1,021 in 2020, according to the Post.

Photo of police standing in uniform in formation during the night

Police keep guard as area residents gather at the site where Minneapolis police officers shot and killed a man on Dec. 30, 2020. Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Police

Black Lives Matter movement

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Travis and Gregory McMichael, two of the three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020, will stand trial on federal hate crime charges after a judge this week rejected plea agreements.

Why it matters: A federal judge made a rare move this week in rejecting the plea deal that the McMichaels reached with federal prosecutors.

Both were convicted of murdering Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man whom they shot while he was jogging, last November.

Prosecutors in the state trial largely edged around issues of race in front of a nearly all-white jury, Vox notes.

 Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Atlanta

Atlanta Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Atlanta. Written by Emma Hurt, Kristal Dixon and Thomas Wheatley.

Axios Atlanta Thought Bubble

Axios Atlanta

Ahmaud Arbery's killers will stand trial for federal hate crime charges

A federal judge made a rare move this week in rejecting the plea deal that the McMichaels reached with prosecutors.

Photo of two people holding signs that say "Justice for Ahmaud Arbery means no more racist terror" at an outdoor vigil

A vigil following the guilty verdict in the trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers on Nov. 24, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Megan Varner via Getty Images

Hate crimes

A federal judge on Monday rejected plea agreements reached by federal prosecutors and two of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed while out jogging in Georgia.

Why it matters: Travis and Gregory McMichael, who along with William "Roddie" Bryan were sentenced to life in prison this month for Arbery's killing, reached the deal with prosecutors ahead of the start of their Feb. 7 hate crimes trial.

U.S. District Judge Lisa Wood to took the unusual step to reject the plea deals following strong opposition from Arbery's family.

Driving the news: The McMichaels offered to plead guilty to violating Arbery's civil rights when they chased him through Brunswick's Satilla Shores neighborhood in 2020. But after hearing from Arbery's parents, Wood said she did not have enough information to approve the agreement. 

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, accused the Justice Department in a statement on Sunday night of betraying the family, saying she "made it clear at every possible moment that I do not agree to offer these men a plea deal of any kind."

In court on Monday, she said: "It is not fair to take away the victory I prayed and I fought for. It is not right."

What they're saying: Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in an emailed statement that she respects the judge's decision not to accept the sentencing terms of the proposed plea and to continue the hearing until Friday. 

"The Justice Department takes seriously its obligation to confer with the Arbery family and their lawyers both pursuant to the Crime Victim Rights Act and out of respect for the victim," Clarke said.

"Before signing the proposed agreement reflecting the defendants’ confessions to federal hate crimes charges, the Civil Rights Division consulted with the victims’ attorneys. The Justice Department entered the plea agreement only after the victims’ attorneys informed me that the family was not opposed to it," Clarke added.

The big picture: The McMichaels had previously indicated they would plead not guilty to the hate crimes charges.

The three white men were each charged with one count of the hate crimes offense of interference with rights, which carries a maximum of life in prison.

Federal prosecutors also charged all three with attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels also face gun violations charges.

The proposed plea agreements for the McMichaels were filed in court late Sunday. Bryan's name was not mentioned in the filings. 

For the record: Arbery's killers were convicted last November for his Feb. 23, 2020, murder.

Prosecutors only pursued the case after video footage of the killing went viral in May 2020, sparking nationwide outrage.

What to watch: The judge gave the McMichaels until Friday to determine if they wished to proceed with pleading guilty. 

Gregory McMichael's attorney said he will confer with his client and decide whether he wants to continue with his guilty plea or withdraw it.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout. 

Judge rejects hate crime plea deals for 2 men who killed Ahmaud Arbery

Arbery's family was "vehemently against" the proposed plea deals.

Protesters demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery

Black Lives Matter

Ahmaud Arbery killers sentenced to life

The judge sat in silence for about one minute to represent "only a fraction of the time" Arbery was running.

A demonstrator holds a sign at the Glynn County Courthouse as jury selection begins in the trial of the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery on October 18, 2021 in Brunswick, Georgia

A demonstrator holds a sign at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Racism

Twin Cities

Axios Twin Cities

Eight months after throngs of people filled a downtown Minneapolis plaza ahead of the Derek Chauvin verdict, a noticeably smaller group gathered to hear the fate of former police officer Kim Potter, who was found guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright's death Thursday.

The bottom line: Many across the trial-weary Twin Cities had checked out for Christmas.

Three days of deliberation, coupled with a late Tuesday question that signaled a lack of consensus, raised expectations for a hung jury.

When the verdict came, it surprised people on both sides of the debate. A group huddled outside the courthouse broke into jubilant cheers and chants of "Guilty! Guilty!"

Wright's mother, Katie, said into a megaphone: "Today we have gotten accountability. And that is what we've been asking for since the beginning."

What's next: Politicians and activists pushing for police reform after Wright's death celebrated the verdict, but said the focus should remain on systemic change.

Mike Elliott — mayor of Brooklyn Center, the suburb where Daunte Wright was killed — said: "We must all fully commit ourselves to creating a city where everyone can thrive, safe from police violence."

Go deeper: What the judge will weigh in sentencing Potter (AP)

Twin Cities Alerts

Picture of the Twin Cities skyline with MSP written across it.

Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporter Torey Van Oot.

Axios Twin Cities Thought Bubble

Activists focus on systemic change after verdict in Daunte Wright death

"Today we have gotten accountability. And that is what we've been asking for since the beginning."

A demonstrator honors Daunte Wright on a bracelet outside the courthouse in Minneapolis. Photo: Christian Monterrosa/Associated Press

Minneapolis

Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter on Thursday was found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last April.

The big picture: The shooting, which came during the Derek Chauvin murder trial, sparked days of protests in the Minneapolis suburb.

It also led city leaders to pledge significant public safety reforms, including changes to the city's traffic stop policies.

The mostly white jury deliberated for about four days.

Background: Potter and another officer pulled over Wright, who was Black, in Brooklyn Center on April 11 for a hanging air freshener and expired tags, according to an amended criminal complaint.

Potter, who is white, shot and killed Wright while attempting to take him into custody over a separate, active arrest warrant discovered during the stop.

Police and Potter's attorney have said the 26-year veteran inadvertently pulled out her gun instead of a Taser after Wright tried to flee the encounter.

Body camera footage shows Potter yell "Taser" just before the shooting, and tell officers "S--t! I just shot him. ... I grabbed the wrong f-----g gun" right after.

Driving the news: During the trial, prosecutor Erin Eldridge argued that Potter was reckless and negligent on April 11 when she mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of a Taser and shot Wright. 

Potter's attorney, Earl Gray, said his client made a mistake, but one that would not have happened if Wright did not attempt to flee police. Gray argued Potter was worried that fellow officer Sgt. Mychal Johnson would be dragged by Wright's vehicle, which is why she went for what she thought was the Taser. 

Potter testified last week, breaking down in tears and apologizing for her mistake. Under questioning by prosecutors, she said she did not attempt to help Wright.

What they're saying: “The family of Daunte Wright is relieved that the justice system has provided some measure of accountability for the senseless death of their son, brother, father and friend," lawyers for his family said in a statement.

"We must now turn our attention to ensuring that Kim Potter receives the strongest and most just sentence possible. It is also imperative that we focus on the conduct of Brooklyn Center and pinpoint its systemic failures that contributed to Daunte’s unlawful death,” they added.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that "I'm very mindful today that there will be an empty chair at the Wright family dinner during the holidays, and that saddens me."

"With the jury finding Kimberly Potter guilty today of manslaughter in the first degree and manslaughter in the second degree in connection with Daunte's death, we have a degree of accountability," he added.

What's next: The judge ordered Potter to be taken into custody without bail. Sentencing was scheduled for Feb. 18.

Minnesota sentencing guidelines for first-degree manslaughter call for seven years in prison, with a maximum of 15.

Sentencing guidelines for second-degree manslaughter call for four years in prison, with a maximum of 10 years.

Prosecutors previously said they will seek a harsher sentence, according to the Associated Press.

Of note: With good behavior, two-thirds of Minnesota sentences are served behind bars and the remaining third is served on supervised release.

Ex-officer Kim Potter found guilty of manslaughter in killing of Daunte Wright

The shooting sparked days of protests in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Artwork is displayed outside the Hennepin County Government Center on November 30, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Posters are displayed outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Nov. 30, 2021, in Minneapolis. Photo:  Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

A Minneapolis suburb's effort to overhaul its approach to public safety after George Floyd's murder and the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright capture the challenges the movement faces in swiftly enacting major change.

Why it matters: If activist pressure to revamp policing could succeed anywhere, you'd think it would be Brooklyn Center, a diverse and solidly blue suburb about 10 miles from where Floyd was murdered.

The big picture: After Wright was killed, local leaders and activists embraced national calls to make cities less reliant on police officers by shifting responsibilities like responding to mental health crises and traffic enforcement to unarmed staff. 

But eight months later, after heated debate, the Brooklyn Center City Council passed a scaled-back budget resolution that some reform proponents say could hinder their efforts to fully implement the initiatives next year.

"I don’t want my son’s name on a resolution that is not going to be effective," Daunte's mother, Katie, said this week. 

Flashback: Wright was fatally shot by then-officer Kim Potter after he was pulled over for expired tags on April 11.

Attorneys for Potter, who is currently on trial for manslaughter charges, say she meant to grab her taser as Wright tried to flee an attempt to take him into custody for an unrelated arrest warrant. 

The 20-year-old's death, which occurred as the Derek Chauvin trial reignited community tensions in neighboring Minneapolis, sparked days of protests and calls to ban traffic stops for minor offenses. 

In the weeks following, Mayor Mike Elliott pledged bold action. He successfully pushed for the removal of both the police chief and the city manager over their opposition to immediately firing Potter.

In May, the City Council passed a resolution to create new departments for community safety and violence prevention, including divisions of unarmed professionals to respond to medical and mental health calls and non-moving traffic violations.

The catch: Brooklyn Center needed cash for the overhaul. The city manager warned in September that the full plan was "not fiscally possible" in the near term.

In November, with a budget deadline looming, Elliott proposed that the city pay for the plan by cutting $1.2 million from the police department, eliminating 14 vacant positions from the authorized force of 49 officers. 

The response: Concerns about crime and growing response times as more officers left the department this year fueled criticism from police and some members of the City Council and the public.

Brian Peters, a former Brooklyn Center police commander who now serves as executive director of the state's largest police association, said diverting funding "seeks to appease extremists at the expense of everyone else."

What happened: On Dec. 6, the City Council approved a compromise to freeze just three open police positions and raise lodging taxes to pay for the plan. 

Elliott says the final budget leaves the city hundreds of thousands of dollars short of what's needed to fully fund the new divisions.  

As a result, some key elements, including the 24/7 availability of mental health responders, will be scaled back, he said. 

What's next: The goal is to have the new divisions up and running by mid-2022. Supporters say they'll work to secure more funding. 

"Our commitment to fully implementing this resolution is stern — it's resolute," Elliott told Axios. 

Michelle Gross, a longtime local activist on police accountability, said the agreement is "not quite enough but it gives them a healthy start." Community reaction to the pilot programs and whether Brooklyn Center lawmakers allocate more cash in the 2023 budget will be even bigger tests, she added.

The bottom line: The saga in Brooklyn Center illustrates the challenge local leaders face in balancing calls for reform and public safety concerns, especially when confronted with the reality of tight municipal budgets. 

Brooklyn Center's complicated path to police reform

The Minneapolis suburb seemingly had all the right conditions for rapid change.

Illustration of Black Lives Matter protestors holding an "I Can't Breath" sign. 

Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Chandan Khanna/Getty Images

Hard Truths - What We Learned

Charlotte

Axios Charlotte

The father of Jacob Blake says he spent about an hour Friday "trying to find the ropes so I didn't fall down" in the wake of the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.

Driving the news: A mostly-white jury found Rittenhouse, a white 18-year-old, not guilty in the fatal August 2020 shooting of two people who attended demonstrations in support of Jacob Blake, who was shot by a Kenosha police officer.

On Friday afternoon, Blake's father Jacob Blake, Jr. — "Big Jake," as he's commonly called — received a text that altered his perspective. 

The message came from Laurie Bey, whose son Cameron Lamb, a 26-year-old Black man, was killed in 2019 by police in his own backyard in Kansas City.

A Missouri judge found Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City police detective, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

DeValkenaere claimed Lamb was pointing a gun at his partner. Prosecutors alleged the crime scene, which included a firearm outside the vehicle, was staged and evidence was planted.

"That is where the national eye should've been," Big Jake said of the Lamb verdict.

Between the lines: Big Jake says he struggles to see that justice was served in either his son's case or in the Rittenhouse verdict.

Over the days that followed the police shooting of Blake, details emerged that a warrant had been issued for his arrest earlier that summer on charges of third-degree sexual assault and abuse. 

Last November, those charges were dropped in a plea deal.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley declined to charge Rusten Sheskey, the officer who shot Blake, saying evidence showed Blake was turning toward the officer with a knife.

Viral video of Blake's shooting showed he was not facing the officer when he was shot in the back.

The big picture: Blake, now 30, remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Two nights after Blake was shot, Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time, brought an AR-15-style rifle to the Kenosha protests, saying he wanted to protect property and provide first aid. He killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz. All three are white.

Jurors ruled Friday that Rittenhouse acted in self defense.

"It never stops," Big Jake told Axios early Saturday morning.

"We understand that this is a society built on systemic racism. There was no way they were going to convict that white individual with killing those other two white individuals that had the nerve to be out there supporting a Black individual."

The bottom line: Big Jake believes people with a vigilante streak were emboldened by Friday's decision and fallout. 

"Now it's OK to say they felt danger and they can kill people in a crowd," he says. "So all of those death threats I've received in the past year and a half, they could kill me if they want to, if they just say they feel threatened by me."

"That's not going to stop me," Big Jake said. "I'm not going to wrap up in my covers and go to sleep. We must continue to fight."

Go deeper: Axios Charlotte's interview with Big Jake back in September of 2020.

Jacob Blake's father speaks out after Rittenhouse verdict

"We understand that this is a society built on systemic racism," he told Axios.

Jacob Blake Sr, the father of Jacob Blake

Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake, at a press conference in  2020. Photo: Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

Jacob Blake

The opening arguments and first presentations of evidence began Friday in the trial of the three white men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, on a coastal Georgia street.

Details: Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery, his father, Gregory McMichael, who was also pursuing Arbery with a gun, and their neighbor William Bryan, who joined in the chase and took the video of Arbery’s death, face nine criminal counts individually and together, including malice and felony murder charges.

The 12-person jury includes 11 white people and 1 Black person,  a makeup that Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley said might have been “intentional discrimination” on the part of defense attorneys but that he could not change due to limitations under state law. 

Glynn County, Georgia, where the crime took place, is 27% Black and 69% white. 

Senior assistant district attorney Linda Dunikoski told jurors on Friday that the defendants “assumed the worst about Ahmaud Arbery” and “trapped him like a rat between two pickup trucks.” 

“The evidence the state expects to show at trial is that this was an attack on Mr. Arbery … and the only thing that Mr. Arbery did was to run away,” Dunikoski said. 

“In this case, all three defendants did what they did based on assumptions. Not on facts, not on evidence, but assumptions."

Linda Dunikoski, senior assistant district attorney, Cobb County DA's office 

The defense argued that the McMichaels' believed they had “probable cause” to conduct a “citizen’s arrest” of Arbery for a suspected burglary in a nearby house. 

Arbery’s death was a result of “self-defense” on the part of Travis McMichael, according to his lawyer: 

"This case is about duty and responsibility," the defense attorney said. "It's about Travis McMichael's duty and responsibility to himself, to his family, and to his neighborhood."

Robert Rubin, defense attorney for Travis McMichael

A former Georgia law allowed one citizen to arrest another if a crime was committed “in his presence or within his immediate knowledge.” 

The law was repealed in Arbery’s name earlier this year, but it was on the books at the time of Arbery’s death.

Of note: Arbery’s parents, Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper-Jones, attended Friday's proceedings. When the state showed jurors the video of their son’s death, Marcus Arbery left the courtroom, saying, “I don’t want to see this.” Cooper-Jones sobbed while remaining seated, according to pool reports.

Opening arguments begin in trial of Ahmaud Arbery's accused killers

“In this case, all three defendants did what they did based on assumptions," the prosecution argued.

Lawyer with pointer gesturing to map on screen in courtroom

District attorney Linda Dunikoski makes her opening statement in the trial of three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery. Photo: Octavio Jones-Pool/Getty Images

Axios Future

Jigsaw, a technology incubator within Google, is rolling out a VR simulation platform designed to help train law enforcement on de-escalation techniques.

Why it matters: De-escalation training is increasingly popular but it's often costly. Jigsaw's VR product Trainer could help provide adaptable de-escalation practice on a tighter budget.

What's happening: De-escalation training aims to help police officers defuse a situation during a stop or investigation without resorting to violence by purposefully bringing down the level of confrontation, says Christy Lopez, who co-leads Georgetown Law School’s Program on Innovative Policing.

A 2020 study found one form of de-escalation training helped police in Louisville dramatically reduce use-of-force incidents and injuries to citizens and officers. 

Google's Jigsaw introduces VR simulator for police de-escalation

The Trainer platform allows police to practice de-escalation in an adaptable virtual space

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