The Stranger is quiet about the reported terrorist attack at Ohio State that involved easy access to guns. Why the silence? Does this not fit the regressive left's narrative?

@1: You're off topic bro.

It's a blessing that this local alt weekly isn't obligated to cover every single event in Ohio or Uzbekistan or what have you. Maybe they don't know any more about it than you do and are keeping their mouth shut for once.

Trump is going to order a bloodbath in Standing Rock. Obama has to find an endgame for everyone before January. Along with a thousand other things that can't be left to that maniac and his white supremacist flunkies.

No mention of the fact that Seattle is much whiter than other major cities?

The multilingual ability is something that ought to be rewarded (though I suppose, grudgingly, I'd grant my pretty strong Latin ability probably shouldn't be rewarded; Seattle doesn't have legionaries massing on the borders, does it?)

What's the value of rewarding time in the Peace Corps again? Why is that important?

Also, how is the racial policy being implemented? Do you get points for being non-white? Assuming all else is equal do you go with the non-white candidate? Is it more a matter of removing barriers that other races previously faced so everyone's treated equally?

Oh and this:

The police force should strive for diversity because it "conveys a sense of equity to the public" and increases the likelihood that officers will understand the perspectives of minorities, the commissioners said, urging a more intensive push for minority recruitment.

Ahem.

Black officers were 3.3 times more likely to shoot than white officers (P = 0:01). While substantial public concern comes from shootings involving white officers and black victims, this study shows that white officers are more than three times less likely to discharge their firearms compared to black officers on the scene of the same incident. This finding is consistent with previous research showing black officers killed felons at much higher rates than white police officers in a national sample (Sorensen et al., 1993) and that black officers shot black suspects at substantially higher rates in Chicago (Geller and Karales, 1981). This study makes no judgment on the appropriateness of the shootings or whether the findings in New York would be consistent in other communities.

I guess my question is, are you really fixing the problem you think your fixing? Or is all this really just window dressing and political theater meant to mollify political interest groups?

Shorter @6: These coloreds, they might be unqualified.

@7 Riiiiiiiiight. Because studies from Ivy League researchers that examine actual data are clearly racist if they don't say what we want them to.

That's some A+ Sarah Palin grade reasoning there, bucko.

None of this is going to matter once Attorney General Sessions removes federal oversight on the SPD. They will then be free to trample civil & constitutional rights as never before.

Not at all, bucko. Your post is pretty much asking why should it matter if there are POC on the police force. Your starting point--"all things being equal"--is a faulty premise simply because all things are never "equal."

But regarding the study, it might be a very good one. I read the abstract, not the entire thing, and I didn't look into the author to see whether he's got some weird biases, like that discredited Florida researcher who's a gun rights advocate. But regardless of the quality of the study, it alone doesn't apply here. In fact, the section you quote ends with this: "This study makes no judgment on the appropriateness of the shootings or whether the findings in New York would be consistent in other communities."

So
1: is what happened during the period studied in New York applicable here?

2: What are the circumstances of the shootings? Are do black officers react exactly the same in all situations as white officers? And do citizens respond exactly the same to officers who are the same race as they are as they do to officers of a different race? The anonymous person quoted in the survey Ansel cites suggests that they don't--that is, that civilians of color may respond differently to officers who are of the same racial background.

3. What are the situations of the shootings in the Ivy League study? Is anything skewing those numbers--for example, what are the statistics for black officers vs. white officers being given assignments in more dangerous situations? Are black vice officers more likely to pass in undercover assignments for drug investigations, for instance?

And maybe the biggest problem with the applicability of the study you present: the study is about black police officers. SPD is hiring more officers who are POC. All black officers would be categorized as POC, but not all POC would be categorized as black.

In other words, maybe you should do a better job supporting your argument.

@10: Do you think it is ironic that you refused to read the study, have questions about its validity that reading the study could have answered, yet you are demanding someone do a better job supporting an argument?

Ansel, The Stranger is going to miss your reporting. I'm guessing SPD might be a little relieved to know you won't be holding them accountable for all their actions anymore (at least not with the Stranger). Good luck to you in the future.

Thank you, John. Another SPD story coming soon, just with a different outlet. Find me over at @ansel.

@11

No, because the writer of the study did a good job with his abstract, which is basically a summary designed to help readers determine if the study is relevant. Sorry you missed that class in college.