An overwhelming percentage of black people believe local police departments are doing a good job, polling shows.
Seventy percent of African Americans said law enforcement officers are doing a “very good” or “somewhat good” job, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday. Thirty percent of black adults polled responded that local police are doing a “somewhat/very bad” job.
Among white respondents, 82% reacted positively toward police departments’ work, while 18% said they were “somewhat/very bad” at the job they are doing.
Approval of the police was also high among Hispanic respondents, at 77%, with 22% disapproving of the job that local departments are doing.
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All in, 79% of those polled approve of local departments, while 21% do not approve of the job they are doing.
The poll also found that 46% of Republicans don’t agree with former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin being found guilty in the killing of George Floyd, while only 10% of Democrats and 25% of independents disagreed with the verdict.
The responses come amid a rising anti-police climate across the nation after recent shootings of African Americans by police and high-profile public figures demanding that law enforcement officers be held accountable.
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NBA star LeBron James sparked controversy after he posted a tweet last Wednesday of Ohio police officer Nicholas Reardon, who shot Ma’Khia Bryant after she charged at two people with a knife, with the caption, “YOU’RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY.”
James soon deleted the tweet amid an eruption of criticism for “inciting violence.”
The poll also comes after James and others have claimed that black people are “terrified” of the police.
“I know people get tired of hearing me say it, but we are scared as Black people in America,” James said last year amid a summer of riots and protests sparked by the death of Floyd. “Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified.”
Journalist Geraldo Rivera also said earlier this month that black mothers are “fearful” that officers will target and kill their sons.
“There’s a situation in this country now where, I swear to God, and I’m speaking with deep experience, too many black mothers are more fearful of the police that they are of crooks when their sons go out. A 20-year-old should not end up dead because of an expired registration,” Rivera said, referring to the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in Minneapolis.
Sunday’s poll surveyed 2,527 U.S. residents between Wednesday and Saturday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
