Harvard professor published study finding no racial bias in police shootings, then needed police protection as 'all hell broke loose'

A Harvard professor published a study that found no evidence of racial bias in police shootings – then "all hell broke loose," and he needed police protection.

In 2016, Harvard Economics Professor Roland Fryer published a study to explore racial differences in the use of force by police.

The study examined racial differences in non-lethal uses of force, such as "putting hands on civilians (which includes slapping or grabbing) or pushing individuals into a wall or onto the ground." The study found that Hispanics are more than 50% more likely to have an interaction with police that involves any use of force than whites.

The study found that blacks are 21% more likely than whites to be involved in an interaction with police in which at least a weapon is drawn.

However, when it came to police-involved shootings, minorities were found to be less likely to be shot at by an officer.

The research revealed that blacks are 23.5% less likely to be shot at by police than whites. Meanwhile, Hispanics were 8.5% less likely to be shot at by police compared to whites.

The paper stated, "Partitioning the data in myriad ways, we find no evidence of racial discrimination in officer-involved shootings. Investigating the intensive margin – the timing of shootings or how many bullets were discharged in the endeavor – there are no detectable racial differences."

During a recent interview, Fryer revealed that there was tremendous outrage over the findings of the study – to the point he needed police protection for his family.

Fryer – who became the youngest tenured black professor at Harvard at age 30 – noted that the researchers in the study collected millions of observations on non-fatal use of force and thousands of observations on lethal use of force.

Despite the vast research, some people were furious over the findings.

"I realized, people lose their minds when they don't like the result," Fryer said during a sit-down conversation with journalist Bari Weiss.

Fryer said he was surprised by the results because he "expected" to see racial bias towards blacks in police shootings.

He hired eight fresh researchers to ensure the results were correct, and the results remained the same.

"All hell broke loose" immediately after the 104-page economics paper with a 150-page appendix was published, according to Fryer.

Within four minutes of publishing the paper, Fryer received an email that read: "You're full of s**t."

He explained, "I had colleagues take me to the side and say, 'Don't publish this. You'll ruin your career.'"

The hostilities toward Fryer were so intense that he required police protection for about a month, including his then-7-day-old daughter.

"I was going to the grocery store to get diapers with the armed guard. It was crazy. It was really, truly crazy," Fryer said during a recent episode of "Honestly with Bari Weiss."

Fryer is the author of more than 50 papers.

The Free Press said of the professor, "At 34, he won a MacArthur Genius Fellowship, followed by a John Bates Clark Medal, which is given to an economist in America under 40 who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge."

You can listen to the entire "Honestly" interview with Roland Fryer below.

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