THINKING OUT LOUD

Tulsa Police Major: We Shoot Fewer Black People Than We Ought To

Maj. Travis Yates of the Tulsa PD also claimed on podcast that systemic racism in U.S. police forces “just doesn’t exist.”

A white Tulsa Police Department major has attempted to deny that systemic racism exists in U.S. police forces—while also saying that he thinks cops should really be shooting more black people. Maj. Travis Yates made his jaw-dropping comments on a talk radio podcast earlier this week, according to Tulsa Public Radio. Discussing statistics that show black people are far more likely to be shot by police than white people, Yates said: “If a certain group is committing more crimes, more violent crimes, and law enforcement’s having to come into more contact with them, that number is going to be higher. Who in the world in their right mind would think that our shootings should be right along the U.S. Census lines? That's insanity.” Yates went on to say: “All of the research says we’re shooting African-Americans about 24 percent less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed.” Speaking about systematic abuse of power and racism in U.S. police forces, he said: “That just doesn’t exist.”