A neighbor walking past a memorial for police shooting victim Manuel Angel Diaz, 25, in Anaheim, Calif., in this 2012 file photo.WASHINGTON – The killing of an unarmed black 18-year-old by an officer in a nearly all-white police department in suburban St. Louis refocused the country on the racial balance between police forces and the communities they protect.
But an analysis by The Associated Press found that the racial gap between black police officers and the communities where they work has narrowed over the last generation, particularly in departments that once were the least diverse.
A much larger disparity, however, is now seen in the low number of Hispanic officers in police departments. In Waco, Texas, for example, the community is more than 30 percent Hispanic, but the police department of 231 full-time sworn officers has only 27 Hispanics.
Across the United States, there are police departments that still look like Ferguson, Missouri, a largely white police force protecting a mostly black community.
After rioting followed the shooting of Michael Brown there, Attorney General Eric Holder noted the lack of black police on the city’s payroll. “Police forces should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve,” Holder said.