this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2026
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For example back in 2020, in Minneapolis: George Floyd was killed by a white cop which sparked a worldwide protest regarding the BLM movement. That was a high profile one. However, before that: there are cases of "black kid gets shot for holding toy gun" or anything equivalent.

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[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

When it does happen it tends to be less fatal, since our police mostly don't carry guns.

[–] stsquad@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

It helps that every police related firearm discharge is automatically referred to the IOPC. About 0.02% of operations involving police firearms involve a discharge.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-april-2024-to-march-2025/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-april-2024-to-march-2025

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

UK police are trained to a higher standard than they are in the US, they are also not normally heavily armed. Armed police do exist and have even higher training standards.

That doesn't mean they don't have problems, but it is usually less often and less severe.

[–] HermitBee@feddit.uk 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

UK police are trained to a higher standard than they are in the US

This is true, but it's also a fundamentally different standard. De-escalation is much more prioritised in UK policing, and the whole idea of policing by consent doesn't seem to be a thing in the USA.

[–] baahb@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

Consent? I hardley knew him.

[–] fozid@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The UK is nowhere near perfect. It still can be scary for minorities. Police brutality does exist. But incidence per capita is considerably lower and the incidents that do occur are considerably less deadly compared to the us. The UK is more tolerant to minorities, but still has a lot of work to do. I've lived in the UK my whole life and have seen it gradually improve over the last 40 years, but I'm looking forward to seeing it go further. There are guns here, but not like the us. Police don't carry guns generally and the vast majority of the population aren't allowed to own a gun. Only highly specialised police units get guns and they get wheeled out as a last resort.

[–] wet_bones@lemmy.4d2.org -5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm in the US, so I don't have first hand knowledge, but the song “Black Boys on Mopeds” by Sinéad O’Connor is explicit enough evidence to tell me it does.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

Not sure a sing lyric counts as evidence.

[–] HermitBee@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

This is probably better evidence than a 35 year old song lyric.

Yes we have our issues, as does any country, but the US is way out there in terms of police brutality.