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Attorney General Eric Holder called Thursday for better tracking of police shootings and police officer deaths. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | Mark Wilson via Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday said the federal government needs to keep track of how many individuals are injured or killed by police officers, as well as keep better records of officer fatalities.

Recent high-profile incidents in which police officers have killed unarmed citizens have called attention to the lack of a proper count of how many people are killed by police officers each year. Speaking at a Justice Department event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, Holder said obtaining better data on police shootings, as well as police officer deaths, is the "first step" in working toward ensuring police officers' safety and upholding the rights of citizens.

"I've heard from a number of people who have called on policymakers to ensure better record-keeping on injuries and deaths that occur at the hands of police. I've also spoken with law enforcement leaders -- including the leadership of the Fraternal Order of Police -- who have urged elected officials to consider strategies for collecting better data on officer fatalities. Today, my response to these legitimate concerns is simple: We need to do both," Holder said.

"This would represent a common-sense step that would begin to address serious concerns about police officer safety, as well as the need to safeguard civil liberties," Holder continued. "The troubling reality is that we lack the ability right now to comprehensively track the number of incidents of either uses of force directed at police officers or uses of force by police."

Holder suggested that law enforcement agencies may lack "sufficient incentives" to report officer-involved shootings, and said many local agencies also don't properly report the injuries and deaths of police officers.

"This strikes many -- including me -- as unacceptable," Holder said. "Fixing this is an idea that we should all be able to unite behind."

In the speech, Holder also said he was "troubled and deeply disturbed by recent mischaracterizations" of the Obama administration's regard for police officers, whom he called "true American heroes -- whose patriotism, integrity and commitment to the highest standards of excellence are simply beyond question." Holder, whose brother is a retired police officer, said the White House's support for law enforcement "has been both strong and unambiguous" and that his personal support for police officers "has been steadfast" throughout his career.

Holder said the murder of two New York City police officers last month has given a "new urgency" to ongoing discussions about the need to reduce crime and build eroded public trust. He said that in discussions with police officers and citizens over the past several months he has been "struck not by the differences that have emerged, but by the remarkable commonalities."

"Let me be clear: None of these goals are in tension. None of our aims are in conflict. And so it is incumbent upon all of us to protect both the safety of our police officers and the rights and wellbeing of all of our citizens," Holder said.

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Eric Holder: Lack Of Police Shooting Data 'Unacceptable'

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder called Thursday for better recordkeeping on how often police officers use force and are themselves attacked, saying current data are incomplete and inadequate.

With his remarks, Holder joined police union officials, academics and others who have urged collection of more detailed statistical data on officer fatalities and deaths of civilians at the hands of police officers.

"This would represent a common-sense step that would begin to address serious concerns about police officer safety, as well as the need to safeguard civil liberties," Holder said in a speech at the Justice Department honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King.

The FBI publishes data on "justifiable homicides" by police officers and on the number of police officers killed or assaulted, and legislation passed by Congress about 20 years ago directs the Justice Department to keep statistics on excessive force by police. But those figures are widely understood to be incomplete since the reporting by local police departments is voluntary and not all submit their statistics.

The absence of reliable data was brought to the forefront by police-involved deaths last year in New York City and Ferguson, Mo. Efforts to explore how frequently officers use force were stymied by poor record-keeping and incomplete data.

Holder said better data are needed on both officer deaths and use of force to provide a more accurate picture of relations between police and the communities they serve.

"It is incumbent upon all of us to protect both the safety of our police officers and the rights and well-being of all of our citizens," Holder said. "We can, and we must examine new ways to do both."

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Holder seeks better data on police use of force

MORGAN ZALOT, Daily News Staff Writer zalotm@phillynews.com, 215-854-5928 Posted: Friday, January 16, 2015, 3:01 AM

IN THE FIFTH of a nationwide series of roundtable discussions aimed at improving police-community relations, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met in Philadelphia yesterday with local law-enforcement leaders and community members.

During a brief introduction before Holder's "Building Communities of Trust Tour" forum - a closed-door discussion - Holder, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane David Memeger, Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey spelled out the goal of the discussions and of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Obama tapped Ramsey to co-chair the task force last year amid backlash in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City.

"People want good policing. Police officers need good community folks," Nutter said. "That's what we're trying to accomplish."

Since the controversies surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in Staten Island during confrontations with police - and the subsequent grand juries that declined to indict officers involved in both incidents - Holder has held similar roundtable discussions in Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis, Tenn., and Cleveland.

"One of the things that struck me [at the meetings] is not necessarily the differences that you hear expressed by people in these gatherings, but . . . their common desires," Holder said. "People want to be safe, people want to have the sense that they're being treated fairly - and when I say people, that is not only the community, it is people in law enforcement as well."

Among city leaders and community stakeholders attending were District Attorney Seth Williams, Father's Day Rally Committee president Bilal Qayyum, former Mayor W. Wilson Goode and Minister Rodney Muhammad, the newly elected president of the NAACP Philadelphia chapter.

In the wake of last month's assassinations of two New York City cops killed simply for wearing the uniform, Holder and the other leaders stressed that fostering a relationship between police and communities where mistrust exists - and ensuring the safety of officers and community members - are parallel focuses of the discussions.

"This is not a choice that we have to make," Holder said. "We should dedicate ourselves to doing both."

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Holder: Talks show that police, community have parallel concerns

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) --

It was his fifth stop on his big city tour to build trust between local police and minority communities.

The tour was generated by all the anger and bitterness triggered by the killings of black men at the hands of police officers in Missouri and New York City.

"People want to be safe, people want to have the sense that they are being treated fairly," said Holder.

On the panel Thursday, many members of law enforcement and community activists who have their hand on the pulse of the Philadelphia community.

Minister Rodney Muhammad of the NAACP says the entire justice system needs to be overhauled.

"If there's a question of police misconduct, there should be a special prosecutor - someone more objective. We don't believe the police can police themselves," said Muhammad.

Marcus Allen, the local head of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, says one of his first mentors was a police officer.

"Some of the community members I spoke with say they only see police get out of the car when there's a problem. We need to understand that the police are here to do a job. It's a tough job but the police also have to understand that they have to do a better job building a relationship with the community they are serving," said Allen.

As the official meeting went on, outside several demonstrators with complaints about alleged police use of excessive force.

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Attorney General Eric Holder to lead discussion in Philadelphia

On Meet the Press, Eric Holder Dodges Question on Whether Petraeus Will Be Prosecuted
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On Meet the Press, Eric Holder Dodges Question on Whether Petraeus Will Be Prosecuted - Video