Congressman John Conyers, Jr., the committee chairman, noted that each year in the United States 100 to 125 law enforcement officers are killed by civilians, but about 3 times that many civilians are killed by police. Members of minority groups form a disproportionate share of the civilians who are killed by police. The police officers involved in these fatalities are almost never prosecuted, and those who are prosecuted are rarely convicted. Attention has focused on Los Angeles County because of a number of shootings which have aroused a high level of public interest and concern. A 1979 poll by a Los Angeles newspaper revealed a high level of dissatisfaction, particularly among minority group members, with the way the Los Angeles police department was doing its job. LEAA has provided a grant to the Los Angeles district attorney's office to facilitate speedier examinations of incidents involving citizen fatalities. LEAA has also provided a research grant to the University of California at Irvine to study the use of deadly force and to formulate specific proposals to address this issue. State assemblywoman Maxine Waters cited several specific police shootings of civilians and called for a civilian police review board, greater exploration into nonlethal weaponry, and a complete revision of the complaint process. Other speakers included law enforcement officials, representatives of community groups, and government officials. An appendix presents correspondence and additional statements.