When it comes to individuals killed by law enforcement, Arizona ended 2016 near the top of the list in the nation. This, according to a study by The Guardian.
The project, called "The Counted," ranked Arizona fourth in the nation in 2016 for total people killed by police at 50. Only Florida (73), Texas (93) and California (160) had more, according to the study.
The total, the project explained, counts any deaths from a direct encounter with police including people who were shot, tasered, struck by a police vehicle or died in police custody.
The study also compiled the names, faces, cause of death and whether they were armed, thought to be armed or unarmed for every person killed.
The findings list six unarmed police killings in Arizona for 2016 -- including Dalvin Hollins and Daniel Shaver.
The project was started with the purpose of building a comprehensive record of the number of people killed by law enforcement in the U.S. through the Guardian's own reporting and "verified crowdsourced information."
"The U.S. government has no comprehensive record of the number of people killed by law enforcement," The Guardian wrote. "This lack of basic data has been glaring amid the protests, riots and worldwide debate."
The Guardian compiled data from 2015 through 2016 using police reports, witness statements, local news outlets, research groups and open-sourced reporting projects.
"Our intention is to progress to a verified crowdsourced system," wrote the newspaper. "We want you to inform us as soon as possible if you witness a killing by law enforcement officers or learn of one that has taken place."
Arizona also ranked No. 6 in the nation for people killed by police per capita in 2016.
In reference to cities with the most deaths by police, Phoenix ranked second with 15 in 2016 behind Los Angeles (20).
The study also showed police killings in the U.S. dropped in 2016 compared to the previous year.
For more information about the project, visit The Counted website.
