Data released from The Guardian estimates that 1,136 people were killed by police in the U.S. in 2015. According to the statistics (which are difficult to collect because it is not currently required for police stations to report it), 50.9 percent of these people were white. The remaining fatalities were either minorities or unknown. Specifically, the victims were 26.9 percent of the victims were Black, 16.8 percent Hispanic, 2.4 percent unknown, 2 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American.
The numbers vary greatly from the actual population. In total, whites make up 77.3 percent of the country, while Blacks make up just 13.2 percent.
Specifically, the murders of Black men by police in 2015 dominated media headlines, as well as 2014 murders that have yet to see justice. Notably, the murders — and the aftermath of those murders — of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and Walter Scott took the nation by storm.
