Half of blacks say police have treated them unfairly

More than 3 out of 5 claim bad experiences

In this April 23 file photo, Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, wears a sweatshirt remembering her son during a news conference in Clayton, Mo. A majority of blacks in the U.S., more than three out of five, say they or a family member have personal experience with being treated unfairly by the police, and their race is the reason why. The parents of Michael Brown filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Thursday against the city of Ferguson, Mo., over the fatal shooting of their son by a white police officer, a confrontation that sparked a protest movement across the U.S. - photo by Associated Press

AP Poll Blacks and Po Heal — In this April 23 file photo, Lesley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, wears a sweatshirt remembering her son during a news conference in Clayton, Mo. A majority of blacks in the U.S., more than three out of five, say they or a family member have personal experience with being treated unfairly by the police, and their race is the reason why. The parents of Michael Brown filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Thursday against the city of Ferguson, Mo., over the fatal shooting of their son by a white police officer, a confrontation that sparked a protest movement across the U.S. - photo by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A majority of blacks in the United States — more than 3 out of 5 — say they or a family member have personal experience with being treated unfairly by the police, and their race is the reason. Half of African-American respondents, including 6 in 10 black men, said they personally had been treated unfairly by police because of their race, compared with 3 percent of whites. Another 15 percent said they knew of a family member who had been treated unfairly by the police because of their race.

Associated Press

Associated Press