Police killings rise despite reforms after George Floyd’s death

Five years after George Floyd's murder sparked calls for change, police killings continue to climb, exposing a deep divide across U.S. states and a lack of lasting reform.

A person is arrested during a commemoration marking the third anniversary of George Floyd's death in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on May 25, 2023. Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu

By Yuni Utomo and Clarisa Sendy

In the five years since the police killing of George Floyd galvanized millions across the United States, the promise of a new era in policing has largely fallen short. Demonstrators flooded city streets in 2020, demanding sweeping change to curb violent and fatal encounters between law enforcement and civilians. Yet despite those calls and a wave of police reform initiatives, the number of people killed by police has only increased, and Black Americans remain disproportionately affected.

According to data compiled by The Washington Post and Mapping Police Violence and analyzed by The Merapi Times, at least 1,226 people were killed by police officers in the United States in 2023. This marks an 18 percent increase compared to 2019, the year before George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. The majority of these cases involved shootings, with most of those killed reportedly armed. Still, some victims were unarmed and died in circumstances disturbingly similar to Floyd’s, such as being pinned by officers while pleading, “I can’t breathe.”

One such case was that of Frank Tyson, an unarmed Black man who died in a Canton, Ohio bar after police took him to the ground. Tyson’s final words echoed Floyd’s, underscoring how the dangers of asphyxiation from prone restraint — a known risk since Floyd’s death — remain a persistent hazard. Two officers have since been charged with homicide in Tyson’s death, but such accountability remains the exception.

Rare prosecutions amid rising deaths

Although Derek Chauvin was convicted for murdering George Floyd, and three other officers present were also sentenced, police killings have increased each year since. Yet charges against officers remain exceedingly rare. In 2023, only 16 officers were charged with murder or manslaughter in fatal shootings, mirroring the number from 2020, according to criminal justice professor Philip M. Stinson of Bowling Green State University.

Stinson remarked, “Given all of the promise of five years ago, in terms of the promises of police reform, from where I sit, the reality is that policing hasn’t changed.”

What’s behind the increase in police killings?

Experts agree that determining the root causes of the rise in police killings after George Floyd requires detailed analysis of each case. However, several contributing factors have emerged. One is the proliferation of firearms in the United States, which increases the likelihood of lethal encounters. Others cite a political backlash against reform, particularly in conservative states where law enforcement has been emboldened. The erosion of public trust in the police may also play a role, potentially fueling more confrontational interactions between officers and civilians.

Seth Stoughton, a law professor and former police officer, noted that public perception significantly impacts police encounters. “When police are viewed as more legitimate, folks are more likely to comply,” he said. “When police are viewed as less legitimate, people are less likely to comply and more likely to resist, and that can increase the rates of violence.”

A partisan divide in police violence

Since Floyd’s death, Democratic-led states and cities have often pushed for more meaningful reforms and police accountability, contributing to a regional divergence in outcomes. Fatal police shootings in blue states have declined by 15 percent on a population-adjusted basis over the past decade and have remained relatively stable in recent years.

In contrast, Republican-led states have seen a 23 percent rise in fatal police shootings during the same period. Within these states, exurbs and rural areas — often more conservative than urban centers — have recorded the highest rates of police violence.

Christina Beeler of the Texas Civil Rights Project observed that officials in her state had rolled back reforms and resisted transparency. “The pendulum has swung back and, in some ways, has gone further than where it was before,” she said.

Fewer unarmed victims, but data questions persist

While the total number of police killings has risen, the number of unarmed individuals killed has declined. In 2015, police killed 152 unarmed people. That number dropped to 95 in 2020 and further to 53 in 2023. Fatal encounters involving replica weapons have also decreased.

The reasons behind this trend are debated. Some experts attribute it to improved training and awareness, while others caution that the data is incomplete and difficult to interpret.

Barry Friedman, a professor at NYU Law School, pointed to America’s deepening gun culture. “In a world in which we are awash in guns, and getting more awash, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said.

Justin Nix, a criminologist at the University of Nebraska, noted the rarity of police killings of unarmed people and the challenges in assessing whether a person was armed. “The data on police use of force is still very sparse,” he said, adding that even less is known about nonfatal police shootings, which one study estimated at around 800 incidents annually.

Legislative rollbacks threaten reform

Despite the increase in police killings after George Floyd and growing scrutiny of law enforcement practices, many jurisdictions have rolled back reforms enacted in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s murder. In Washington State, lawmakers overturned a 2021 law that limited high-speed pursuits by police. Alabama passed legislation in 2023 making it harder to sue or prosecute officers. Oregon eased tear gas restrictions in 2022, just a year after imposing stricter controls.

Meanwhile, under the Trump administration, the federal government has also scaled back oversight. In May, the Justice Department ended investigations into nearly two dozen police departments accused of civil rights violations, including Minneapolis. President Trump’s executive order in April signaled further support for law enforcement by directing the attorney general to defend officers facing misconduct accusations.

According to Nix, political attitudes toward police reform have shifted. “The climate is perceived as a little bit more friendly to policing,” he said. “Things that are perceived as unnecessarily tying the hands of police, you’re going to see those get rolled back.”

Broader change remains elusive

Many reform efforts — such as body cameras, de-escalation training, and community engagement programs — aim to improve police-citizen interactions but are not solely designed to reduce killings. While such initiatives are beneficial, experts argue they are insufficient on their own.

“There are broader societal factors at play,” Nix said. “If we want to see a meaningful reduction in the number of people killed by police, we have to look beyond department policies.”

In the end, the sharp rise in police killings after George Floyd’s death lays bare the limitations of reform when not backed by systemic change. As the country continues to grapple with issues of race, violence, and accountability, the sobering reality remains: the cycle of deadly encounters between police and civilians has yet to be broken.

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