The Counted

Over the past few years, America has been plagued by various acts of violence demonstrated by police officers. In 2014, the death of an unarmed black 18-year old named Michael Brown sparked nationwide protest after he was shot multiple times by a white police officer. The officer responsible for Brown's death, Owen Wilson, was found not guilty of any wrongdoing, causing Brown's city of Ferguson, Missouri to burst into riots protesting this verdict. Brown's death led to increased dialogue across the country about racial bias held by police forces when using guns and other violent means. At the time, no data actually proved that police officers showed a disproportionate amount of violence towards people of color. Thus, The Guardian decided to create a database with every police killing in 2016 - "the only comprehensive record of all people killed by police officers in the US", according to an article detailing the work behind the project.

In a stunning piece of journalism, The Guardian compiles the names, faces, and stories of victims of police killings in "The Counted: people killed by police in the U.S." Upon entering the page, it sorts information into multiple categories that you can choose from.

The piece sorts its information into multiple categories, including year, race and ethnicity, state, and more.

One of the first things that caught my eye was the number "4" attempting to peek out underneath the "3" of the last digit. It is a sad yet important reminder of the fact that this number is only increasing, and deaths will continue to rise from police violence. Indeed, although this piece ends its data in 2016, a Washington Post article reports that a similar amount of people found themselves victims of police violence the following year.

At the bottom right corner of the screen, the top of the number "4" peeks out, symbolizing that this number will only continue to increase.

My eyes moved to the next section of the categories, which sort the victims by race and ethnicity. Within these races, you can see the numbers "per million", or in "total". Sorting the data using these two different methods was very interesting, because it put the numbers in perspective. For example, although the white people killed have the highest actual number, they are only 2.9 deaths per million. Similarly, the total amount of Native Americans killed seems to be a relatively low number, but the "per million" toggle shows how these 24 actually make up a greater proportion of the population.

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To the right, the next categories sort the victims by state. Similar to the portion with race and ethnicity, these statistics can be sorted by either "per capita" or "total". The additional option not available under "race and ethnicity" is to sort the states alphabetically. Clicking on the icon which each state's abbreviation opens up more information, including the total number of people killed, the state's population, the state's rank per capita, and the state's rank for total numbers. California comes first in terms of "total" killed by a staggering amount at 161 killed, followed by 93 killed in Texas, then 73 in Florida. The tiles with the state abbreviations are in different shades in accordance to the "per capita" list; thus, the state with the most killings per capita (Arkansas) is the lightest, while the state with the least amount of killings per capita (Delaware) is the lightest.

An example of what the screen looks like if you sort the states by "total." California places number one in this category, but revealing more information shows that it ranks 18/51 when factoring in per capita.

Moving down the screen, you have to choose the year you want to view victims from, as well as whether you want to use the list or map view. The list and map views both tell completely different stories, but both are powerful in their own ways.

The two main toggles for the database are the year and list versus map. After choosing these, you can sort through the information using even more filters.

Viewing the database using the "list" toggle reveals photographs of those killed, along with the date of death, their name, their age, and how they died. Seeing pictures of the victims makes the entire concept feel more real, and it's a reminder that these were real people, just like you and me.

Images of the victims, as well their date of death, name, age, and how they were killed.

Clicking on one of these thumbnails reveals even more information about the deceased. A card reveals the demographics of the victim, the location of death, whether or not they were armed (and if so, with what), how they were killed, what police department was involved, and a summary of the incident. In the example below, it is revealed that Ricky Whidden appeared to be a threat and went to attack a deputy, who then shot him.

Clicking on the thumbnail in list view opens up a card in this format, which reveals the date of death, name, demographics, location of incident, armed/unarmed, method of killing, police department, summary of event, status of case, and sources.

Underneath this summary is the "status" of the incident, which reveals whether the police officer was found guilty of wrongdoing at the bottom. Additional sources regarding the killing can be found at the bottom of the card, which allows readers to further delve into the story if they choose. The presence of the links at the bottom of the card is also essential because this is a piece of journalism, and the attribution of sources is fundamental to the institution.

I wanted to see what the cards said for some of the more talked-about acts of police violence, so I searched for Philando Castile, remembering it was around 2016 when he was shot. Castile was fatally shot by a police officer after being pulled over for a broken tail light. Despite disclosing that he had a firearm in the car but assuring the officer he wasn't reaching for it, the officer shot him multiple times, killing him. Castile's girlfriend began streaming the event on Facebook live about forty seconds after the last shot, and the incident garnered nationwide outrage.

I searched for Castile's name, and it came up within seconds. The first thing I noticed is how much larger the card seems in comparison to the last. This is understandable, as numerous national outlets had been covering the case, and there is thus a lot more information to go off of. The summary explains the details of the incident, adding that the police officer was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

Information about the death of Philando Castile, who was shot to death by a police officer after being pulled over.

Next, I decided to sort through the database using the "map" view. The "list" view is powerful because it shows the faces of each of the victims, making the deaths feel more real. The "map" view, in contrast, is powerful in its own way; the dots scattered across the United States are a visual representation of how deaths by police violence occur almost everywhere.

It is important to note that while all these dots represent people who were shot by police, it does not necessarily mean they all represent acts of injustice. Some of these instances were understandable, such as the case of Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and wounded even more at a shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando.

Information about Omar Mateen, the man behind the deadly shooting at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The above summary of the incident also shows how this piece has become dated; although here, the Pulse club shooting is described as "the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history," the incident that currently holds this title is the 2017 attack at a country concert in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and injured nearly 500.

There are so many moving parts to this piece of journalism, and they all come together very effectively to tell an important story about American society. The different toggles and filters enable the reader to sift through the data by whatever means they want, and the visual representation of both the “list” and “map” review hits hard.

Not only does the project create an impact on the average human, it led to important and ground-breaking findings. Reporters realized that people were killed at "more than twice the rate last documented by the FBI." Additionally, the data found that "African-Americans killed by police were twice as likely as white people to have been unarmed."

The project also inspired a series of investigative articles, which led to various discoveries regarding injustices and racial bias within police departments:

Here are some of the subsequent findings:

• For 85% of the cases in which the police killing was ruled justified, the prosecutor leading the investigation typically worked alongside the officer's department.

• Police routinely ignore federal guidance and use means that may put the general public at risk, an observation discovered during "investigations into the use of taser weapons and the practice of shooting at moving vehicles."

A number of reporters were behind this award-winning and ground-breaking project, but there was another key player: the public. Hundreds of people sent submissions and tips to the project using the online contact form available on the website:

The website invites readers to send in tips, asking for any details of an incident, as well as relevant links, contact information, attachments, and more.

These tips were then researched by journalists who worked to verify them by contacting police departments coroners, local authorities, and more.

At the beginning of 2017, The Guardian released the following note to their readers, explaining that while they are no longer continuing the project, they are still committed to covering officer-related deaths. The note also states that the FBI has made commitments to reform such deaths, partially due to the work of The Counted:

This note from The Counted's Facebook page states that although the project is coming to an end, its impact will not.

You can still follow The Counted on their Facebook platform here, or check out their Twitter page here.