Who was killed
| Recorded race | Killed by police | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 23 | 0.0% |
| Native American | 20 | 0.0% |
| Unknown race | 4 | 0.0% |
| Hispanic | 1 | 0.0% |
| Asian | 1 | 0.0% |
Recorded by Mapping Police Violence from public reporting and official sources. Where race was not established it is recorded as not recorded, and that category is shown rather than removed.
What the person was recorded as armed with
| Recorded as armed with | Killed by police |
|---|
Agencies in South Dakota with enough records to report
Only agencies recorded in at least 12 incidents are given their own page. Most of the 4,641 agencies in the database appear once or twice, and a page built on one or two incidents would say nothing.
| Agency | Type | Killed by police | Body camera on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City Police Department | 16 | 23.1% |
Where a complaint goes in South Dakota
A complaint normally goes first to the agency's own internal affairs division. Larger cities may also have a civilian review board or independent monitor. The South Dakota Attorney General can investigate patterns of misconduct, and the federal Department of Justice can open a pattern-or-practice investigation.
A civil claim for a violation of constitutional rights is usually brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Deadlines are set by South Dakota law, not federal law, and they are strict.
How people were killed
| Cause of death | Deaths | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Gunshot | 46 | 93.9% |
| Taser | 2 | 4.1% |
| Physical Restraint | 1 | 2.0% |
Where more than one means is recorded for the same death, both appear in the combined category rather than being counted twice.
Were any officers charged
Of the 49 deaths recorded in South Dakota, 0 led to a criminal charge against an officer, 0.0% of them. In 49 there is no known charge.
Share a finding about South Dakota
Every statement here is generated from the published figures by code. None of it is written by a person or produced by a language model, and each one carries its source and its period so you can check it before you pass it on.
In South Dakota, a body-worn camera was recorded as active in 11.8% of cases where the question was recorded: 4 of 34 cases. In the remaining 88.2%, no camera was recording.
Source: Mapping Police Violence, 2013 to 2026. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
South Dakota policing in the news
The five most recent reports mentioning this force, collected automatically. Headlines and links belong to the publishers named. We do not edit, summarise or endorse them, and inclusion here does not imply any finding against anyone.
- Family's $150M lawsuit against US Marshals closed
- Springfield woman accused of prison misconduct arrested in Ohio
- 'Speed record' as candidate's lawsuit against Sioux Falls dismissed
- Former Hill City police officer charged with sexual misconduct involving 17-year-old
- Spearfish hotel settles sex abuse lawsuit filed by Minnesota family of two boys
Data last refreshed , covering 2013 to 2026. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the source datasets, not edited by hand. Found something wrong? Tell us.