When protectors become threats: The deadly consequences of police violence in America

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently published its annual report on human rights violations committed by the United States and the United Kingdom.

This report covers human rights violations by these countries from September 2024 to September 2025.

One of the issues highlighted in the report is police violence in the United States.

Police violence in the U.S. is one of the country’s most prominent social and legal problems, affecting thousands of lives every year.

According to independent data from organizations such as Mapping Police Violence (MPV) and The Washington Post, U.S. police have set new records in recent years for killing American citizens.

Based on updated statistics through November 2025, the report examines recent trends, racial disparities, and geographic factors.

The year 2024 was one of the deadliest years in the United States, breaking the record for the highest number of killings by police officers.

According to USA Today, U.S. police killed at least 1,365 people—the highest figure in more than a decade. This increase follows a rise from 1,133 deaths in 2019 to 1,329 in 2023, reaching its peak in 2024.

Statistics show that in 2024, one person was killed every 6.4 hours by police officers in the United States.

Ninety percent of those killed by the police died from gunfire, eight percent were killed in intentional vehicle collisions, and five percent died due to devices such as Tasers.

Meanwhile, since the beginning of 2025, more than 1,000 people have already been killed by U.S. police, following a trajectory similar to 2024. California (122 cases), Florida (95 cases), and Texas (90 cases) recorded the highest numbers.

Overall, data show that from 2013 to 2025, at least 13,000 American citizens have been killed by police.

Reports indicate that the rate of citizens killed by police in the U.S. is three times higher than in Canada and 60 times higher than in the United Kingdom.

Police violence against black people and minorities

According to Statista and various media reports, Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by police violence in the United States.

In 2024, 277 Black individuals were killed by U.S. police officers. The killing rate for Black Americans was three times higher than that of white Americans. Black individuals accounted for around 24% of all victims, despite comprising only 6.1% of the U.S. population.

Meanwhile, 201 Hispanic individuals were killed by police in 2024. Indigenous Americans were killed at three times the rate of white Americans relative to their population size.

Police violence in the U.S. continues to rise, and 2024—with over 1,365 deaths—was the deadliest year recorded.

Racial and geographic disparities in police killings are stark, and the absence of comprehensive federal data remains a major challenge.

Experts say that reducing police killings requires alternative policies, such as non-police responses to mental-health crises and greater accountability mechanisms.