Poll: Unlike Ferguson, the shooting of Walter Scott finds racial agreement

There is a significant amount of distrust about law enforcement that is expressed in this poll: just one in four say that if they were on a jury, they would be more likely to believe a police officer’s testimony than that of another witness who was not a police officer. Americans support the Wisconsin law that requires deaths in police custody be investigated by an outside organization (and they have supported that legislation since last year). And nearly nine in ten Americans favor the use of body cameras on police officers.

While this poll was in the field, another shooting – this time by a volunteer officer – took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was captured by a body camera, and the shooter has been charged with manslaughter.

There has been a drop in support for leaving the investigation of deaths at the hands of police officers in the hands of the local police department since December, particularly among whites. In December, one in four whites would let the local police investigate police shootings. Now just 15% of whites would do that. Half of whites would have the state investigate, while a quarter would ask the federal government investigate.