If you would read the study posted, you would note that the authors controlled for the variables that are mentioned in your quotation. Yes, more white people are shot, but blacks are shot at a higher rate per capita. The important point is when the authors controlled for the amount of crime that occurred within a community blacks were more likely to be shot. In other words, when comparing white communities to black communities with the same level of crime, blacks were still more likely to be subject to lethal force. This caused the authors to conclude that criminality cannot explain the differences in the use of force. To be perfectly honest, I trust a scholarly investigation of the subject more than a newspaper article. The statistical analysis and controlling for variables are going to provide more accurate results.