1. Part I

    Always Justified

    Las Vegas police shoot often but seldom are disciplined.

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  2. Part II

    142 Dead, and Rising

    Many of the 378 shootings could have been avoided.

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  3. Part III

    Quick to Shoot, Slow to Change

    Las Vegas police are slow to deal with problems.

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  4. Part IV

    Broken System, Shattered Lives

    At every step, the inquest system protects police.

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  5. Part V

    Better Ways

    What Las Vegas can learn from other police departments.

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Part II: 142 Dead, and Rising

Analysis of cases since 1990 reveals patterns in Las Vegas police shootings

Missing from the debate over shootings by police in the Las Vegas Valley has been a comprehensive understanding of how, when, and why these incidents happen.

That changes today.

In the second installment in a five-day series, the Review-Journal provides an unprecedented analysis of officer-involved shootings since 1990 in Clark County, focusing on 310 incidents involving the Metropolitan Police Department.

The newspaper found that Las Vegas police tend to shoot more often than their counterparts in other cities; that foot and car chases stemming from petty infractions often end in death; and that race plays a role in many incidents.

Faces of the Dead

Since 1990, police in the Las Vegas Valley have killed 142 people in 378 officer-involved shootings. Clark County coroner's inquest juries cleared the officers of wrongdoing in all 142 deaths, but many could have been avoided and some remain highly controversial. In an unprecedented research project, the Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained all the available public records on all fatal and non-fatal shootings. This gallery covers the 142 dead.

Friday, May 25, 2012
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