American policing kills not only Black men and boys, but Black women and girls too. But their stories are rarely covered in the media.
When Lajuana Phillips was shot and killed by a California police officer in late 2018, she was a mother of three children, a daughter and a cousin who was described by family as “a hard worker,” according to an online memorial.
But Phillip’s death received little media attention.
There were a few local stories when she was first identified by police, and others detailing the circumstances that led to her being shot at six times. But that was about it.
Phillips isn’t alone.
Crystal Danielle Ragland, who was killed in Huntsville, Alabama; Latasha Nicole Walton of Florida; and April Webster of South Carolina, to name a few, also received little news coverage after their fatal encounters with law enforcement.
Most people fatally shot by police get little to no attention from national media outlets. But this media landscape is especially stark for Black women, who are also far more likely to be killed by police than other women, according to The Washington Post’s database of deadly police shooting.
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