LOS ANGELES (AP) — In 2022, Los Angeles police shot and killed 14 people — 60% of everyone who was struck by officers' bullets — according to a report released Wednesday.
LAPD officers opened fire 31 times last year, striking 23 people and missing their target in eight other situations, the department's annual Use of Force report shows.
The statistics show decreases in police shootings since 2021, when officers fired their weapons 37 times. In 2021, 31 people were struck, and 17 of those were killed.
In eight of the 31 events of 2022, the person opened fire at the officers or bystanders, according to the report. The suspect had a gun in 10 other situations but did not shoot. In five instances, officers believed the person had a gun but none was ultimately found.
Officers also opened fire eight times when the suspect had a weapon other than a gun, the report said.
Although the agency is routinely criticized for its violence, figures from the last five years show that police shootings are significantly down from the early-to-mid 1990s. Officers opened fire 115 times in 1990, and 108 times in 1992 before decreasing later in the decade.
But Los Angeles police fatally shot more people in 2021 and 2022 — 17 and 14 people respectively — than comparable law enforcement agencies, including the New York Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.
