Confidence in police hasn't been this low since the Rodney King officers went on trial
A new Gallup poll shows Americans' confidence in police officers hasn't been this low since 1993, when four white officers were on trial for beating Rodney King two years before.
But don't let that deceive you: 52 percent of those surveyed said they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the police, a figure that's still relatively high compared to other institutions Gallup polls the public on. In fact, of 15 institutions Gallup asks about, only military and small business rank higher.
The poll comes after the actions of white police officers leading to the deaths of black men in places like Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, and Baltimore have been called into question.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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