Police killings of black males in U.S. 'should trouble all of us,' says Obama

Despite repeatedcalls for change, police killings of black men and boys, many of whom were unarmed, have continued in the U.S., sparking outrage around the country.

Two more men were killed by officers this week Alton Sterling in Louisiana andPhilandoCastile in Minnesota.

• Snipers kill 5 police officers 'ambush style' at Dallas protest, several wounded
• Dallas police officers gunned down: leaders, public figures react
• Minnesota man shot dead by police in front of woman and child during traffic stop
• Alton Sterling shooting: A quick death, a swift federal probe

The shootings have inflamed already strained relationships between many communities and their police forces. Protests were held Thursday in New York, Minnesota, Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia in reaction to this week's shootings.In Dallas, a protest erupted into chaos after snipers shot at police officers, killing several of them.

Numbers draw a grim picture

The problem of black men being killed by police is so prominent in the U.S. that President Barack Obama called it"an American issue," in a speechThursday.

"When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if, because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts, and that should trouble all of us," he said.

"This is not just a black issue, it's not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we all should care about."

He said the shootings are symptoms of a "broader set of racial disparities" in the country's justice system that aren't being fixed quickly enough.

APro Publica analysis found there were 1,217 deadly police shootings between 2010 and 2012 in the U.S., according to federal data. Their research found that black people were 21 times more likely to be killed by police than white people.

Another project, called Mapping Police Violence,was compiled by data scientists, teachers and activists, including well-known activist DeRay McKesson. Among their findings are that black people are disproportionately killed by police in the country's largest cities: in 2015,41 per cent of people killedwere black, despite making up only 20per cent of the population in those cities.

The Guardian's project,The Counted,found there have been 136killings of black people by law enforcement in the U.S. in 2016, and 306 in 2015. Most of the victims were men.

Below are some of the cases that ledto protests, chargesagainst the police officers involved, and sometimes, hefty settlements for the families of the victims.

Jamar Clark, 24, Minneapolis, Minn., November 2015

Police said Clark was a suspect in an assault and was interfering with the assault victim's treatment. Two police officers were trying to restrain him when he allegedly resisted and ended up on the ground with one officer. One of the officers then fatallyshot Clark.

The officer who shot him said he believed Clarkwas trying to grab his gun.

Clark's death sparked days of protests in Minneapolis.

During a federal investigation,there were conflicting reports as to whether Clark was handcuffed or not when he was shot. The investigators determined that Clark was not handcuffed.

In March, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota said it would not bring charges against the officers involved, prompting more outrage in the community.

Freddie Gray, 25, Baltimore, April 2015

Gray was transported bypolice in a van after allegedly being caught with an illegal switchblade. During his ride in the vanto the police station,he suffered injuries to his spinal cord and went into a coma. He died several days later.

His death set off protests and violence.

Six officers were charged after Gray's death, with the charges ranging frommanslaughter to illegal arrest.Four officers have been acquitted, and thetrial for the fifth and most senior-ranked officer began this week.

Baltimore reached a $6.4-million US settlement with Gray's family.

Walter Scott, 50, North Charleston, S.C., April 2015

Scott was shot eight times from behind as he ran from a police officer after a traffic stop.

The officer, MichaelSlager, was fired from the police force andindicted on a state murder charge. He will go to trial for murder in October.

A bystander caught the shooting on video, which served to discredit Slager's initial reason for why he shot Scott. The officer said Slager had grabbed his Taser and then came towards him,which the video proved to be false.

The City of North Charleston awardedScott's family$6.5 million in a settlement,which wasthe largest in the state's history.

Eric Garner, 43, New York, July 2014

Garner was stopped on the street by police, who suspected him of selling illegal cigarettes. Garner said he was not selling cigarettes, and that he was tired of being harassed by police. An officer began to arrest Garner, puttinghim in a chokehold and pullinghim to the ground.

The officer took his arm from around Garner's neck, and he and other officers turned Garner onto his stomach while they arrested him. While on his stomach on the ground, Garner repeated 11 times that he could not breathe. He lost consciousness. Officers did not perform CPR on Garner, but instead waited for an ambulance to arrive.

He died an hour later in hospital.

The arrest was captured on video by a bystander.Garner's words, 'I can't breathe,' became a slogan for many protesting the police's actions.

A grand jury decided not to indict the officer who put Garner in a chokehold.

Several months after Garner's death, the city announced that its police force would undergo retraining.

Garner's family was awarded$5.9 million in a settlement.

Tamir Rice, 12, Cleveland, Ohio, November 2014

Rice was killed by a police officer responding to a 911 call about what the caller said was a "probably fake" gun being brandished outside a recreation centre.

Anofficer pulled up in his vehicle to the scene so quickly that the vehicle skidded, and then shot Rice within two seconds of opening the car door.

Rice was not given first aiduntil an FBI agent, trained as a paramedic, arrived four minutes later. Rice died the next day.

In December, agrand jury declined to bring charges against the officers involved.

Cleveland awarded Rice's family a $6-million settlement.

Michael Brown, 18, Ferguson, Mo., August 2014

Brown and a friend were leaving a convenience store when they were confronted by a police officer. Brown and the officer were involved in some kind of scuffle, followed by gunshots. Brown died at the scene.

Brown's death sparked intense public outrage, and largeprotests rocked the St. Louis suburb of Fergusonfor days. The state'sgovernor called a state of emergency.

• Michael Brown shooting and Ferguson aftermath timeline

A grand jury decided not to charge the officer who shot Brown.

The U.S. Justice Department investigated theFerguson Police Department over how, among other things, officers use force when arresting suspects.

The family has filed a wrongful death suitagainst the city of Ferguson. It is scheduled to go to court in October.

TrayvonMartin, 17, Sanford, Fla., February 2012

While not police, aneighbourhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, killed Martin, who was unarmed. Martinhad been walking through the gated community where he was staying, and in which Zimmerman lived.

Zimmerman, who said he was defending himself when he killed Martin, was found not guilty by a jury.

The case was highly publicized. Many rallied around it, using the symbol of thehoodie, which Martin was wearing when he was killed, to point outdangerous racial profiling.

• Trayvon Martin honoured in 'Million Hoodie March'

Martin's family settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the homeowners' association in the gated community where Martin was shot. The settlement amount was not made public.