Social Media's Influence On Police Brutality

Reading the legal summary of the killing of Michael Brown, there were many factors that went into Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson’s shooting, whether it was justified or not. According to the investigation conducted by the Justice Department, several witnesses stated that Michael Brown appeared to pose a physical threat to Darren Wilson as he moved toward Wilson. These witnesses stated that as Brown continued to move toward Wilson, Darren Wilson fired at Brown in what appeared to be in self-defense. Witnesses also stated that Wilson stopped firing once Brown fell to the ground. In Wilson’s statement, he said he feared Brown would assault him because of Brown’s conduct in the SUV.

Michael Brown, an unarmed black male was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. According to a report issued by the Department of Justice, Shortly before the shooting, Brown stole several packages of cigars with his friend Dorian Johnson, from a nearby convenience store and shoved the store clerk who tried to stop him. Police officer Wilson had been notified by radio of the robbery and given descriptions of the two suspects. Brown, eighteen at the time, and his friend were walking down the middle of a city street when Officer Wilson arrived on the scene and stopped them. He ordered the pair to walk on the sidewalk, but the two refused to do so. Though details of the events that followed

Michael Brown was stopped for jaywalking which does not warrant death. Many eyewitnesses claim that Wilson reversed back toward Brown in rage, his tires screeching, and threw open his door. Wilson tried to get a hold of Brown but he managed to get out of his grip and started running down the street, away from Wilson. Wilson pulled out his gun and shot at Brown. One of

On Saturday August 9, 2014 in the town of Ferguson, Missouri, an 18 year old man named Michael Brown was shot ten times and killed by a police officer. The police officer’s name is Darren Wilson. He was 28 years old at the time this tragic even took place. Many Americans, both black and white believe that officer Wilson is guilty of first degree murder when he shot Michael Brown, and other Americans believe he acted in self-defense. Because of the fact that the officer is white and Michael Brown was black, the case has stirred up plenty of controversy and differences in opinions nationwide.

While there had been many conflicting testimonies on what actually occurred between Wilson and Brown, it was concluded, through witness accounts that corresponded with physical evidence that Mr. Brown and Officer Wilson had a physical altercation at the door of Wilson’s patrol car, which resulted in gunfire from Wilson, striking Brown. The altercation then continued outside of the vehicle where Wilson, fatally struck Brown with multiple shots, including shots to the head (Department of Justice, 2017).

After the horrendous shooting of Michael Brown by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri a petition was sent to the White House that looks into equipping officers with body cameras on the line of duty. Since the Michael Brown petition exceeded a hundred thousand signatures the Obama administration was obligated to respond to the social issue (“#BlackLifesMatter” 1). By observing officers' encounters with citizens, we’ll be able to determine objective evidence of a situation. Mistreating, framing, or racial profiling towards individuals who are of different descent is an obstruction of justice. The proposal has rapidly gained popularity through social media, but the topic is more complex and complicated than society realizes. Many Individuals are

Wilson backed up his cruiser and blocked them. An altercation ensued with Brown and Wilson struggling through the window of the police vehicle for control of Wilson 's gun until it was fired. Brown and Johnson then fled, with Wilson in pursuit of Brown. Brown stopped and turned to face the officer, then Brown moved toward him. Wilson fired at Brown several times in total, all shots striking him in the front, with the possible exception of the two bullets fired into Brown 's right arm. In the entire altercation, Wilson fired a total of twelve bullets; the last was probably the fatal shot. Brown was unarmed and moving toward Wilson when the final shots were fired. Witness reports differed as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot, but none of the witnesses who said that Brown had his hands up in surrender were later found to be credible. At 11:47 a.m., Wilson responded to the call of a baby with breathing problems and drove to Glenark Drive, east of Canfield Drive. About three minutes later and several blocks away, Michael Brown was recorded on camera stealing a box of Swisher cigars and pushing away a Ferguson Market clerk. Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, left the market at about 11:54 a.m. At 11:53, a police dispatcher reported a "stealing in progress" at the Ferguson Market and described the suspect as a black male wearing a white T-shirt running toward QuikTrip. The suspect

Ronald Weitzer “Incidents of police misconduct and public opinion” Department of Sociology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA .

The teenager was unarmed and only pulled over for jaywalking (Lopez, 2014). Leading many to ask what led the officer to shoot Michael Brown. The shooting is very controversial with many different witnesses telling conflicting info. The officer who shot Brown, officer Darren Wilson, reports that Brown assaulted him and tried to take his gun, but other witness say that Brown didn’t assault Wilson and had his hands up in surrender (Lopez, 2014). Many believe Wilson may have participated in racial profiling of Brown.

The perception of excessive force has been intensely debated for the last few decades. With continuous public defiance increasing, instances of police brutality are rising at an exponential rate. However, the accessibility to social media has greatly increased as well, therefore, causing us to become more aware of such situations. With that considered, the increased amount of police beatings is far less than what may be perceived. Frequently occurrences of police brutality are brought to our attention through the media. Often times, broadcasting very graphic, and sometimes unlawful situations. Several people may say that discrimination against particular ethnicities may be the main cause of this recent influx. Though, others may believe that subsequent social disparities towards specific ethnicities may cause frustration, consequently, causing law enforcement officers to use unnecessary excessive force, more frequently.

It has been documented and filmed that many rioters have demanded the streets to riot recent fatal police brutality of unarmed African American teenagers, but what has caused the most publicity is how these incidents spread so widely through social media. The article Ferguson: Digital Protest, Hashtag Ethnography, and the Racial Politics of Social Media in the United States by Yarimar Bonilla & Jonathan Rosa studies the affects social media has on a modern political issue and explains how “hashtag activism” can unite a group of people globally. The controversy the article presents is whether social media can be considered a platform for police brutality, and on a greater outlook, “activism”. It concludes that reports on the shooting, the

The purpose of my proposed research is to study the effect of media reports on the current Americans’ perceptions of police brutality. Police brutality has been a headline topic for debate for the past century. This topic’s popularity has grown recently due to advancements in media technology over the past two decades. Police brutality is a problem in the United States for both, citizens and police officers. It is important to study the effect that mass media coverage of police use of force has on Americans’ perceptions to find out if the initial coverage of these events creates a bias in them. It has been found that celebrated crime events are portrayed differently than normal crime reports on the news;

Excessive force and police brutality have become common terms for anyone keeping up with today’s current events. In 2014, the media covered numerous cases of excessive force that resulted in the deaths of several people of color (Nelson & Staff, 2014). The most widely covered cases by the media in 2014 were of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black male shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri; and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old black male in Staten Island, New York who was put into a choke by police officer Daniel Pantaleo until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing (Nelson & Staff, 2014). These cases brought attention to the seriousness of police brutality and the curiosity of how often it occurs (Brown, 2015).

From the disturbing beating of Rodney King to the horrific death of Malice Green to the shooting of Michael Brown shows there is a consistent problem with police brutality and the exertion of force used. Police brutality seems to be a rising issue again with the occurrence of the Michael Brown shooting and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement making sure that any form of police brutality should not be swept under the rug. Action has been taken in some cities around the country for dealing with police brutality, such as police reform, which requires the retraining of hundreds of officers. There has also been talk and use of police body cameras that would record interactions between officers and the public to clear up any discrepancies in police/witness reports. To look at the effects and causation of police brutality we will be analyzing the media’s role, the sociological and psychological aspects of officers who administer the beating, and the timing of when these beatings/killings occurred.

1. If it wasn’t for social media the truth of these cases would not be seen and once again silenced by a bias police report. (“Police brutality raises social media shock waves.”)