There have been more fatal police shootings in St. Louis in 2017 than for a decade — with three months still left until year's end.
The new data comes as the city's police department struggles to contain daily protests following the acquittal of white former police officer in the killing of a black suspect.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that police have fatally shot eight people so far this year, up from five in all of 2016. Police say all of them were armed.
Police have also shot and wounded seven people.
Lt. Col. Rochelle Jones attributed the rise in police shootings to the rise in violent crime. But the Rev. Phillip Duvall, who has been active in recent protests, says the data suggests police are "not being too cautious."