How we counted police-involved deaths
Shortcomings in public data have obscured a full accounting of the cases.
The Star Tribune built this database by culling information from death certificates, news stories, crowdsourcing sites, state and local police records, FBI supplementary homicide reports and arrest-related death reports and medical examiner data.
Government agencies have not adequately tracked these deaths. Even death certificates, the official record of what caused a person to die, often lack any mention of police involvement.
Of the 147 people killed by police in Minnesota since 2000, 130 were deemed a homicide; only 63 of the 130 death certificates indicated that law enforcement was involved. Eight other deaths were ruled accidental, natural or suicide; four could not be determined; three were not available and two were pending a ruling.
In most cases the deceased was shot, but some died after being hit with a Taser, restrained, pepper-sprayed or after wrestling with officers.
http://www.startribune.com/how-we-counted-police-involved-deaths/380709141/
