It's no surprise that attitudes toward police in America break sharply based on race.
But a new survey finds a consensus on a variety of issues regarding law enforcement across the country. The study conducted by Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington D.C., found an overwhelming majority (84 percent) oppose the common practice of police seizing money or property in drug cases before a person is convicted.
--79 percent think allegations of police misconduct should be handled by outside agencies and about half think most police officers think they are above the law.
--54 percent think police go too far in use of military equipment to do their jobs.
--65 percent think police racially profile who they stop and roughly the same amount think that practice is wrong.
--65 percent think police have "very dangerous jobs."
Issues where views diverge widely include use of deadly force and overall opinions of police.
Neither group is anti-cop, the report found, but 68 percent of white Americans have a favorable opinion of police, while 40 percent of African Americans have favorable views.
Black Americans overwhelmingly (73 percent) think police are too quick to use lethal force while 35 percent of white Americans hold that view.
Here's a link to the the full report titled Policing in America.
Click on this link to read the AJC's investigation into fatal police shootings in Georgia and explore each case going back to 2010 in our online database.
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