AP-NORC poll: White Democrats grow more critical of police
Source: AP
By KAT STAFFORD and HANNAH FINGERHUT
DETROIT (AP) — As a national reckoning over racism and policing grips the nation, white Democrats are far more likely now than they were a few years ago to think police brutality is a serious issue — a dramatic shift in public opinion that some say could shape the November presidential election.
A majority of white Democrats today say police officers are more likely to use deadly force against a Black person than against a white person, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, not unlike five years ago.
But for the first time, the poll shows significant changes in how white Democrats view police brutality and the consequences: 64% now describe police violence against the public as very or extremely serious, compared with 29% in July 2015.
Race and policing in America have been thrust into an international spotlight amid an already tumultuous presidential campaign after a series of high-profile police killings of Black Americans that has sparked global protests and demands for structural change. The campaign had already been fraught with racial tension fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and its ensuing economic fallout, which both have disproportionately impacted people of color.
FILE - In this June 24, 2020, file photo protesters gather near the White House in Washington amid continuing anti-racism demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was restrained by police in Minneapolis. A majority of white Democrats today say police officers are more likely to use deadly force against a Black person than a white person, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, not unlike five years ago. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/016ee8f275d615bd3e4f72bb771326a8
