'Let's see the receipts': RCP's Tom Bevan dismantles Jim Acosta's claim that there's been 'a rash of police killings of black Americans'

CNN’s Jim Acosta has made a successful career out of using words. But that doesn’t mean he’s actually good at his job.

Yesterday, he told viewers that the week of Derek Chauvin’s conviction, there’s been “a rash of police killings of black Americans.”

That’s a pretty bold claim, and RealClearPolitics co-founder and president Tom Bevan would understandably like Jim to show his work:

1) @Acosta yesterday: "As the nation grapples w/a rash of police killings of black Americans, many of them happening the same week former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd."

Let's see the receipts for this claim, Jim.https://t.co/uMQ7dOzvSj

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

Well, Jim?

2) If @Acosta was relying on this AP story to claim a "rash of police killings of black Americans," he either didn't read the story or willingly misled his viewers. https://t.co/EqCVxwB90B

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

3) Even setting aside the fact that it appears in almost every one of the 6 instances from the AP article the police were confronting someone who was armed and/or dangerous, @Acosta's claim falls flat.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

4) In addition to Ma’Khia Bryant, there were two fatal police shootings in San Antonio. Names and races of the victims were not released by police. In Worcester, a heavily armed 31-year-old man named Phet Gouvongong was killed by police after threatening to detonate a bomb.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

5) In California, a white man carrying a 2 ft long metal pole rushed police officers and was shot dead. He had been arrested more than 200 times for violent assaults.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

6) In North Carolina there was a fatal police shooting of a 42-year-old black man, who was being served for drug and arrest warrants. A witness said he tried to drive away and police opened fire. Officers have been placed on leave and an investigation is underway.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

7) So, to sum up: unless @Acosta knows about a bunch of other incidents that were not reported in the press last week, he misled his audience with an inflammatory claim of a "rash of killings of black Americans" that is not supported by the facts.

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2021

Jim Acosta? Misleading his audience? With an inflammatory claim?

Yep, that sounds like the Jim Acosta we know. Sounds like the CNN we know.

Sounds like the media we know.

On average, about 500 white people are killed by police every year. I never hear of a "rash of police killings of white Americans." 90% of people in shootings are men. You never hear of "rash of killing of men." Media picks Narrative that it wants. https://t.co/rbxMJQfzHR

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 26, 2021