Public perception of law enforcement shootings compared to reality is at a crossroads today in America. Recent Washington Post article sheds some light on police shootings and just who law enforcement is engaging with. I highly recommend you read the whole article here as it shows more data and highlights the life of a fallen officer.

Here are some snippets of 800 police shootings that have happened so far in 2015:

But only a small number of the shootings — roughly 5 percent — occurred under the kind of circumstances that raise doubt and draw public outcry, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. The vast majority of individuals shot and killed by police officers were, like Snyder, armed with guns and killed after attacking police officers or civilians or making other direct threats.

In 74 percent of all fatal police shootings, the individuals had already fired shots, brandished a gun or attacked a person with a weapon or their bare hands, according to an analysis of actions immediately preceding the shootings, which draws on reports from law enforcement agencies and local media coverage. These 595 cases include fatal shootings that followed a wide range of violent crimes, including shootouts, stabbings, hostage situations, carjackings and assaults.

Of the 800 people killed by police this year, almost half have been white, a quarter have been black and one-sixth have been Hispanic.