Street Soldiers: Cops and communities

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - There has been a lot of talk about bridging the gap between police and African-American communities after recent fatal police shootings of black men, and the attack on white police officers. Now some big name celebrities are speaking out, but not everyone agrees their focus is on target.

"23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You're Black In America" is a chilling political statement from superstars like Alicia Keys, U2's Bono, Beyoncé, Chris Rock, Pink and others about cases where blacks died at the hands of police across the United States. It is a somber expression of tensions that some say are reaching a boiling point.

While the Black Lives Matter movement navigates its way through sensitive territory riddled with misunderstandings, Heather Mac Donald, the author of "The War on Cops," says they should really be thanking police.

The Department of Justice statistics shows police kill more whites than any other race, but more unarmed blacks are killed than any other race, despite the fact they're about 13 percent of the population.

Mac Donald says there another statistic to look at. She says a police officer is 18-1/2 times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is by a cop. She says the real issue is crime.

Some African-American leaders would agree, and add that more must be done to bring police and the community closer.

Some voices are calling for mutual respect, and a search for ways to heal the wounds. The NYPD has already retrained all its officers and included instruction in implicit bias as well as de-escalation techniques. But many community leaders feel more needs to be done.