Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption to typical social interactions, the number of fatal shootings by police in the first half of 2020 was comparable to that of the past four years, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Using The Washington Post’s database of officer-involved shootings, the ACLU found that Colorado was one of seven states in which the number of fatal shootings increased in 2020 relative to the average from 2015-2020. There have been 27 such deaths in the state as of June 30, compared to an average of 17.4.

“These sobering findings suggest that not even a deadly virus — one that has driven people indoors and required social distancing — can curb the American epidemic of fatal police shootings or the disproportionate rate of police killings of Black, Brown, and Native American/Indigenous people,” wrote the organization.

Although Colorado’s rate of police shootings per one million residents was one of the highest in the country, Montana and Nevada had in excess of five shootings per million people. The only state more affected was Alaska, where officers killed 8.2 people per million.

The Anchorage Daily News found that Alaska state troopers were involved in half of the 43 fatalities since 2015. Alaska Natives comprised 30% of the victims and 15% of the general population.

The ACLU recommended ending the “militarization” of police, creating independent oversight mechanisms and redirecting money from police departments toward other services. The group also suggested police should no longer be involved in “nonserious traffic and minor offenses, which should be addressed through mechanisms outside the criminal legal system.”