To the Editor:

USA Today has reported that on average there were 96 cases of a white police officer killing a black person each year between 2006 and 2012. At least 392 people have been killed by U.S. police so far in 2015; at least 1,101 in 2014; at least 2,260 since May 1, 2013. Between 2003 and 2009, the Justice Department reported that 4,813 people died while in the process of arrest or in police custody. 

These are not just numbers. Each represents a living, breathing American citizen, a member of the human family, a brother or sister. In the midst of all the otherwise deserved celebration of "liberty and justice for all" this Independence Day season, these numbers — and the snuffed-out lives they stand for — cause one to wonder how we can be "proud to be an American."

Doug Wingeier

Waynesville