Who was killed
| Recorded race | Killed by police | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 90 | 0.0% |
| Unknown race | 28 | 0.0% |
| Black | 17 | 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 West Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia State Police | 31 | 0.0% |
Where a complaint goes in West Virginia
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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia law, not federal law, and they are strict.
How people were killed
| Cause of death | Deaths | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Gunshot | 133 | 97.1% |
| Vehicle | 2 | 1.5% |
| Taser | 1 | 0.7% |
| Gunshot, Pepper Spray | 1 | 0.7% |
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 137 deaths recorded in West Virginia, 0 led to a criminal charge against an officer, 0.0% of them. In 137 there is no known charge.
Share a finding about West Virginia
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.
23.1% of the deaths recorded for West Virginia involved a person the reporting agency recorded as showing signs of mental illness: 27 of 117 cases where the field was completed.
Source: Mapping Police Violence, 2013 to 2026. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
West Virginia 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.
- Lawsuit alleging excessive force filed against several deputies, sheriff, and county commission
- Attorneys release statement in Angela Born lawsuit
- Family of woman killed in crash during I-64 pursuit sues Putnam County officials, police
- Family of Clendenin woman killed during I-64 police chase files lawsuit in federal court
- Angela Born’s family files lawsuit against police, Putnam officials for negligence
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.