Latinos account for nearly half of 172 people killed by police in California in 2017

Blacks and Latinos were injured or killed by police officers in California in greater percentages than their share of the population, according to a state report released Wednesday on the use of force by police in 2017.

A 2015 state law required officials to compile racial and ethnic information annually on police contact with civilians. Next year’s report will include data on individuals stopped by police in seven cities and counties, including San Francisco, and by the California Highway Patrol.

The data in Wednesday’s report came from police organizations throughout the state, which were asked to disclose violent encounters with individuals. They cited incidents in 2017 involving 741 civilians, including 172 who were killed.

Of the 741, the report said, 43.9 percent were Latino, 30.2 percent were non-Latino whites, 19.3 percent were black and 1.1 percent were of Asian descent. The remainder had other ethnicities or were unknown.

Of the 172 fatalities, the report said, 47.1 percent were Latino, 32 percent were white, 15.1 percent were black and 1.7 percent were of Asian descent.

California’s population in 2017 was about 39 percent Latino, 38 percent non-Latino white, 14 percent Asian American and just under 6 percent African American.

The report also found:

•Of the people injured or killed by police, 63 percent were between the ages of 21 and 40, while 10 percent were younger than 21. More than 91 percent were male.

•According to the police reports, more than 69 percent of people injured or killed by police assaulted the officers.

•Of the injured civilians who survived, 85 percent were taken into custody.

The report was released by the state’s Racial and Identity Profiling Board, whose 19 members include police, community organizations, youth advocates and academics. The board is working on strategies to reduce racial profiling.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he was optimistic that those recommendations, once released and implemented, “will help make our law enforcement agencies more transparent and promote critical steps to enhance, and in some cases repair, the public trust.”

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko