Are the New York police racist?

Well, I can't cast any light on the New York police record yet, but this paper is helpful.

It's entitled The Effects of Suspect Race and Situation Hazard on Police Officer Shooting Behavior and is authored by Andres Inn, Alan C. Wheeler, and Cynthia L. Sparling.

Here's the abstract (if you've got a spare $39 you can read the whole thing):

Shooting incidents involving patrol officers are examined for the effect of suspect race and degree of hazard in the number of shots fired and hits made on suspects. Additional tests examine frequencies of shooting incidents among Blacks and Whites with respect to city population and various measures of police-citizen contact. Finally, fatalities are examined with respect to involvement in shooting and arrest rates. The results suggest an effect for degree of hazard; however, there was no evidence to suggest police bias against Blacks.

The problem with this work? It's now nearly 30 years old. Has the situation changed since then? Are police killings racist now, when they weren't then.

One indicator that things have deteriorated might be the strength of feeling in the African American community. But it is worth noting that at the time (1977), in a separate study, the authors recorded that the view of the police held by African Americans sharply diverged from that held by white Americans. They believed, then, that police actions were racist.