Latinos are disproportionately likely to be killed by police in the U.S., data shows

Latinos are more likely than their White counterparts to be killed by police in the U.S., a new report showed.

Campaign Zero, an organization advocating against police violence, released a document showing that Latinos and Native Americans account for 22% of the nearly 13,400 people killed by police since 2013, a disproportionate amount considering they represent a much lower percentage of the American population.

Overall, the report said, U.S. law enforcement are "responsible for at least 7% of all homicides" in the country. "US Law enforcement killings per year have ranged from 1,043 (2014) to 1,352 (2023)."

Concretely, Latinos are 1.3 more likely to be killed than White Americans, while Black people are 2.9 more likely and Native Americans are 3.2 times more. Overall, more than 2,600 Latinos have died at the hands of police in the past 11 years. Their average age is 34, compared to 40 for White people.

The report was compiled using media reports regarding law enforcement officials, whether on or off duty, used lethal force on someone. The organization claims to have tracked 92% of all police killings since the mentioned year.

If staff can't confirm a person's race or ethnicity, they are classified as "unknown race," Campaign Zero executive director DeRay Mckesson told Axios.

The outlet went on to explain that law enforcement agencies use different methods to track Latinos' ethnic data, meaning the figure is probably higher. Many of those categorized as "unknown race" had Spanish surnames.