Hands Up, Dont Shoot!

An analysis of the beliefs of the social movement related

to police brutality
Linda de Sosa Psychology of Beliefs

Artwork by Anna Asche for the Hands Up, Don't

Shoot exhibit

Dedicated to my sons friend and my friends son, Mark Ballard, who

never saw justice for his murder at the hands of the Sugar Land, TX
police department.

I recognize that the findings in our report may leave some to wonder how
the departments findings can differ so sharply from some of the initial,
widely reported accounts of what transpired. It remains not only valid but
essential to question how such a strong alternative version of events was
able to take hold so swiftly, and be accepted so readily.1
Eric Holder (March 4, 2015)
On August 19, 2014, teen Michael Brown was shot by policer officer, Darren
Wilson. That fact seems to be the only undisputed one about that day in
Ferguson, MO. Part I of this report will examine what really happened as
determined by Eric Holders Department of Justice, answer his question
quoted above about why a false narrative could gain such traction, who
nursed the lie, and the circumstances that reinforced the lie. Part II will
attempt to analyze the truth behind police brutality and start to suggest
what we can do as a nation to solve the problems revealed.
PART I
On that summer day in 2014, Michael Brown and his friend, Dorian
Johnson, strolled down the middle of the street after robbing a gas station.
A white police officer, Darren Wilson, pulled alongside the black teens to
advise them to move to the sidewalk for their safety. After they ignored
him, he reengaged with Michael Brown, an imposing figure in size, but
allegedly soft-spoken. Officer Wilson attempted to exit the police cruiser,
but Brown shoved the door closed on him, punched him in the face causing
serious damage, grabbed for his service revolver and in doing so, shot
himself in the hand. At that point, Brown turned and walked off, but at a
distance of 180 feet, he swung around, looked at his injured hand, and then
charged back toward Officer Wilson like a bull with his head down.2 While
Brown was unarmed, he was powerful, had already injured the officer, and

had shown willingness to fight for the gun. Darren Wilson had to make a
split second decision and after Michael Brown ignored his shouted warnings,
he mortally shot Brown.
Many witnesses stepped forward shortly after with their version of events.
They related a graphic tale of an innocent, unarmed black teenager shot
down in cold blood by a callous white officer while attempting to surrender
with his hands up, yelling Dont shoot! The DOJ report described the
major role that social media played in spreading the impression that many
people had witnessed Brown with his hands in the air.3
Only seven witnesses actually told the tale related in the beginning of this
paper. One was a black couple on a balcony overlooking the scene, one was
a biracial family of four who were driving by, and one was accidentally and
unknowingly captured on a recording in the background of someone else
telling the false narrative.4 So most would say that the majority must trump
these seven, especially since these seven agreed with the clearly racist
police officer. However, the tales told by all but these seven contradicted
the indisputable physical evidence, including multiple autopsies, Michael
Browns DNA in the squad car and on Officer Wilson, wounds, and the blood
trail from Browns injured hand.5

In this case, science trumped the

witnesses.7 After returning to the witnesses to reconcile the inconsistencies,

most either admitted their lies or admitted that they had only heard the
description, not seen the incident. Amazingly, a least one witness stepped
forward 7 months later, suddenly remembering her version of this tragedy
because she wanted to become a part of history.8

In tracking down the source of the false narrative, authorities uncovered a

video of two construction workers at the scene shortly after the incident
(yellow crime scene tape is visible). These workers were describing the tale
of the innocent teen surrendering and even describe a second officer
shooting, though there was only one there.9 Therefore, the creation must
have happened almost immediately. As they traced the source, it seemed
to start with Dorian Johnson, Browns partner in crime.10

11

He had fled the

scene after hiding behind a car, changed, and then gone to Browns family,
who encouraged him to return to the crime scene.12 Upon return, the DOJ
report stated that he made multiple statements to the mediathat
spawned the popular narrative.13 Given their friendship, he may have been
trying to protect Browns reputation, or he may have been trying to deflect
his guilt over the robbery that had immediately preceded the incident. He
had previously been arrested for filing a false police report so it was not out
of character.
However, in other videos of the gathering crowd during the four hours that
Michael Browns body lay in the street (for some inexplicable reason),
Anthony Shahid, a well-known local community activist who focuses on
black racism to stimulate social change, appeared to be coaching people on
the Hands Up, Dont Shoot narrative. He was actively promoting the phrase
as a rallying cry. He was also very active in promoting many protests in the
St Louis area after the incident, accompanied by the professional grievance
community.14 Many in the local community view him as an attentionseeker who shoves aside the boundaries othershave set inflaming
situations that should be handled with civilized restraint.15 Others question

whether Shahid unifies or divides, whether he pushes the community

toward a painful justice or merely reinforces old hatreds.16 This perspective
varies by the evaluator, it would seem, and whether they support his cause
or if they feel he is inciting violence.
Many were quick to adopt the Hands up, Dont Shoot cry around the country.
The national protests in solidarity with the Ferguson community spread
rapidly. These protesters believed the false narrative because in their
worldview, this was a common occurrence. When asked about the lack of
proof in this particular instance, most protesters seemed to dismiss the gap
because this had become a unifying force to propel their frustration with
the perceived police brutality in their communities. Events like Ferguson
can provide the moral shock that political movements need to build their
ranks and bring attention to the communitys affliction.17 Unfortunately,
Ferguson was quickly followed by several other incidents of police violence
against blacks that did not seem to be justified. Thus, the internet allowed
the movement to connect and take cases that might have been unnoticed
and sew them together as a coherent whole.18
Interestingly, in 2016, a play was in rehearsals in Los Angeles with
black actors reading the script, which was essentially the truthful witnesses
testimony word for word. Most left the set and the project because the truth
did not jive with their personal beliefs of what had happened.19 In a poll
taken April 11-13, 2015 by The Economist/YouGov, 69% of blacks felt Darren
Wilson should have been charged vs. 32% of whites.20 Sixty-one percent of
blacks disagreed with Eric Holders Department of Justice when it did not
charge the officer, despite Holders obvious scorn for the Ferguson police

department.21 As one observer noted after the DOJ report, To me, he had
his hands upit doesnt change it for me.22
As a social movement, protests against police brutality had begun to stir the
year before when George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. While
Zimmerman was only a police-wannabe, it was good enough to stimulate
the conversation. Three young black women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Marie
Cullors, and Opal Tometi, spontaneously utilized the mobilizing force of
social media23 to focus on the notion that Black Lives Matter (BLM) in order
to draw attention to structural racism an attempt to re-humanize us in a
world that so profoundly dehumanizes us.24 The call for action sprang
from their feeling of vulnerability as black persons when George
Zimmerman was acquitted.25 This rallying cry captured the imagination of
the community and created a leaderless social movement there currently
is no charismatic leader like Martin Luther King or Malcolm X.
This fledgling movement immediately absorbed the Michael Brown case as
an example of police brutality to prove their point. In Social Movements in
an Organizational Society, McCarthy and Zald introduce the concept of
resource mobilization, which directly corresponds to the development of this
movement. They state,
Shared grievances and generalized beliefsabout the causes and possible
means of reducing grievances are important preconditions for the
emergence of a social movement. An increase in the extent or intensity of
grievances or deprivation and the development of ideology occur prior to
the emergence of social movement phenomena.26
Michael Browns death fed into their narrative and triggered the increase in
support and attention. Another concept in McCarthy and Zaids essay is
that grievances and discontent may be defined, created, and manipulated

by issue entrepreneurs and organizations.27 Therefore, the false narrative

of Hands Up, Dont Shoot directly feeds into this definition. It also creates a
sense of urgency that ensures the issue stays in the headlines.
Admittedly, Hands Up, Dont Shoot is a very powerful image for
protests, which enhanced its adoption. The phrase portrays powerlessness
in a simple manner and, as a symbol of surrender, resonates universally.
Further, it also speaks to the concern that people, even when they submit
themselves to police, are still subjected to violence. 28 In addition, it
combines a chant with a hand gesture so the impact is enhanced. The
desire to protest innocence in the face of a racist rogue cop can be
understood by all.
All social movements need momentum from outside agitators to
increase their presence. These moral entrepreneurs arose from many
sources. In the past, there was the old guard like Jesse Jackson and Al
Sharpton, whose sole purpose seemed to be to swoop into a situation that
could reinforce their cause of highlighting racism (and personally benefit
themselves, according to many involved with these situations). They clearly
care about the cause, but as Kevin Jackson, a black conservative radio host
and author summarizes, Race pimping has cost America trillions of dollars
because there is big money in race guilt (they) line their pockets
while delivering little to nothing to the community at large.29 Al Sharpton
seems to acknowledge the new movement, calling himself a refined
agitator and has sought to change from confrontational to
accommodating recently.30 Indeed, the BLM movement believe these longtime agitators who led the movement

represent

a bygone era and turn up in cities to

hold press conferences only after the hard protest
work has been done on the ground. They also fear
that the peaceful protests advocated by these elder
statesmen have little impact; that change will only be
achieved by more assertive action.31
In this instance, many other resources helped to legitimize the
message. The media rushed to report each new case, looking for black riots
because that is the story that sells. TV hosts like Rachel Maddow, CNN
panelists, magazines like Jezebel and Fortune, TV shows like Scandal and
the Daily Show, rappers/singers like Beyonc and Jay-Z, and sports teams
like the St Louis Rams all controversially raised their hands in the gesture.
Even four members of the House Black Caucus raised their hands in the
gesture while knowing that it was not true. Later, they tried to dismiss their
actions a symbolic, but did not mention that qualification at the time.
(Exhibit 10) Fortune Magazine actually named two of the protest leaders
(Johnetta Elzie and DeRay McKesson) to their 50 Greatest Leaders list in
2015, sharing the honors with such figures as Pope Francis and Bill Gates.32
All the media outlets reported on the investigations into the shooting,
repeating the false narrative the three main networks used it a total of 140
times after the shooting, before the DOJ report.33 When the DOJ debunked
it, mention was brief to nonexistent on the networks and in newspapers.
One of the few to recognize the error, the Washington Post, gave the lie four
Pinocchios in their annual summary of media misinformation.34
One of the controversies in this movement is whether these lies or
exaggerations are useful to or harm the message. The answer is yes and
no. There are two elements to this. The first is the false narrative of Hands

Up, Dont Shoot. McCarthy and Zaid mention that conscience

constituents, individual and organizational, may provide major sources of
support.35 Those conscience adherents became involved because of
heightened awareness though they are not directly impacted - in this case,
liberal whites. They understand that it is the symbolism of the chant that is
relevant. Protestors do not seem concerned that it is not true Even if you
dont find that it is true, its a valid rallying cryits just a metaphor36
However, as long as the opportunity to deny the truth of the central
symbol of the movement is there, opponents can correctly point to the
falsehood to discredit the total movement. As Sheriff David Clarke, who is
black, stated lets let the standard be facts, evidence, the rules of law.
Not hype, emotion, and mob rule.37 This opposition expanded as police
were attacked execution-style in New York, Boston, Ferguson, Houston, and
elsewhere as the hatred boiled over. In the local case of Darren Goforth in
Houston, the defendant was very clear with his interrogators that he
attacked Goforth in retaliation because he wore a uniform.38 The FBI
revealed that the number of officers killed in the line of duty had increased
+89% in 2014 versus 2013 (though in the last 10 years, the 2014 numbers
were below average).39 (Exhibit 4) This may reflect an increased backlash
and distrust for police officers in the black community.40 I analyzed the
manner of police deaths and the results are in Exhibit 5.
The instinct to guard those who protect us can actually increase
support among many. In addition, given there are many cases of racism and
innocent blacks who are killed by the police, it seems they could adopt a
more appropriate symbol. In some cases, the phrase, I cant breathe has

been used, referring to Eric Garner (who looks to have been manhandled by
the police), but it does not have the same unique symbolism as Hands Up.
However, they need a balance between truth and the need to resolve an
important issue versus a rallying cry to stimulate support, but little action.
Jonathan Capehart, a black liberal columnist, is one of the few to
actually address this issue. While he acknowledged that the narrative took
because of the pattern of behavior of police brutality and lack of trust
between African Americans and law enforcement41, he stated that it was an
inappropriate symbol - We should never allow ourselves to march under
the banner of a false narrative on behalf of someone who would otherwise
offend our sense of right and wrong.42 One additional item to consider is
the fact that increased brutality against police becomes a self-filling
prophecy. In general, the police are not shooting because they decided they
wanted to kill themselves a black boy that day. Instead, they fear for their
lives and the more violence against them, the faster their trigger fingers will
react.
The second controversy is related to the name, Black Lives Matter.
The blacks and sympathetic white liberals see this as focusing attention on
a critical issue. As someone stated, if three houses are standing, but only
one is on fire, you only put the water on the one on fire.43 However, the
name sounds exclusionary to those not as keyed into the movement and
thus, objectionable. Even Martin OMalley, a liberal white politician, was
roundly heckled when he said All lives matter. A compromise would be a
shift to the name Black Lives Matter Too. However, since this is not a

cohesive group, but rather a social movement, there is no central

instrument to make this happen.
The other danger to the Black Lives Matter name is the fact that many
black communities are riddled by black on black crime. On average, 4,472
black men were killed by other black men annually between Jan. 1, 2009
and Dec. 31, 2012.44 If black lives truly matter, then this should be a major
focus of the movement given many more minority lives are actually
sacrificed through this means than in police deaths. The movement feels
that this is being used as a distraction from their message and even tries to
tout that violence is decreasing. However, this is not true according to all
data so at that point, they sound like they really are trying to dismiss an
issue that should be important if their rallying cry is true.
Polls support these hypotheses that white liberals would become
conscience adherents and traditional police supporters would swing the
opposite way. Gallup has tracked Americans confidence in police since
1993. The percentage has primarily ranged between 52-59%, with a high of
64% in the years immediately after 9/11. In 2015, the percentage was at
the low end of the range at 52%, which equals the approval rating in 1993,
the year that Rodney Kings police attackers were on trial for his beating.
Examining the racial differences in approval ratings, blacks approval of
police at 30% is much lower than whites at 57%. When looking at the drop
in approval ratings over the last few years, blacks did decrease by -5 points.
However, because their numbers were already low, this is less of a drop
than other groups.45 This is also consistent with the fact that 69% of blacks
feel they are targeted unfairly as a race.

When we look at the change in approval from 2014/5 vs 2012/3 by

political parties, however, we see Democrats dropping from 55% approval to
only 42% approval or -13 points. Clearly, they are becoming conscience
adherents. To study the hypothesis about traditional police supporters
negatively reacting to Hand Up, Dont Shoot, and Black Lives Matter, we see
that conservatives actually increased their support of police over this time
from 60% to 63% (+3 points), supporting this hypothesis.46
In summary, this movement has successfully been able to change
the national dialogue about anti-black racism.47 However, now it needs to
transcend the street unrest and hashtag angst that too often stand in for
political organizing.48 They are starting to become involved with political
politics, though in a confrontational manner toward the candidates in both
parties.49 They need to assure that they present viable solutions for the
reform they seek and that they are a respected and contributing member of
the discussion. Otherwise, they will quickly pass into history without
accomplishing anything, much as Occupy Wall Street did.
PART II
Hands Up, Dont Shoot successfully resonates among the recent social
movement and seemingly will not disappear any time soon. If we accept
that it is a symbol of excessive force against blacks, not a fact, then we can
move on to explore whether blacks are unfairly targeted by police and
whether a majority of police officers cannot be trusted. In other words, are
the beliefs of this social movement true? We hear about a lot of examples
from the media as they look to promote the issue. One article from a
conservative source, however, said it very well before proclaiming that

brutality is systemic, not anecdotal - the plural of anecdote is not data,

and the media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict.50
Therefore, I chose to study two pieces of information to try to tackle
this issue and understand the true data. The first was a list of complaints
against police officers taken from 2010.51 This list includes over 4600
complaints. While it is not exhaustive, the list has frequently been cited as
evidence of misdeeds of police nationally. Secondly, I chose to study all
people killed by the police in 2015. While the FBI recently announced plans
to expand the system for tracking fatal police shootings52, the US
government currently does not compile an official list. To correct that
absence, lists have been compiled by a few other sources based on a very
thorough search of media records, police reports, and FOIA requests. One is
the The Counted in The Guardian, a British paper with a US edition, which
has looked at 2015-2016. Another was developed by a civic-minded
gentleman named D. Brian Burghart, who is the instigator of
fatalencounters.org. This list is much more ambitious as it goes back to
January 1, 2000 and contains over 12,000 records to date. I used these
sources to compile a list of 1,160 individuals who died during police
interaction in 2015.
First, I will summarize the overall results, but just because blacks are
overrepresented in that list does not mean anything if, for example, they
commit crimes with lethal force at a higher rate than other races.
Therefore, I examined every single case for the context and details of what
happened. In many cases, race information was not available so I dug
deeper until I could assign a race, which I will be forwarding to these afore-

mentioned lists to help other peoples research. With this information, I

have a much clearer look at the deaths so that I am then able to analyze
and most importantly, recommend solutions based on facts, not on general
outcry.
In addition to Mr. Burghart, I would like to thank Nick Selby, a police
officer who has also been examining these deaths in context for the last few
years.53 As he wrote, Data is only valuable when it can be trusted, and
used as the basis for information on which decisions can be made.54 He
has also been invaluable through phone calls and emails in helping me to
understand laws and the mindset as an officer is confronted.
Police complaints
Looking at police complaints is revealing. There is no source
compiling the complaints. Since police departments vary both in
constituents as well as atmosphere, the numbers of complaints vary widely
as well. Further, given that the departments are self-policing, the
resolutions also vary. For example, in more than seven dozen central New
Jersey departments, there have been hundreds of complaints filed.
However, a report finds that only 1% of these complaints were upheld. 55
While many frivolous or misguided complaints are filed, sense would
say that more cases than in this conviction rate might have some validity.
In addition, certain officers have multiple complaints, including civilian,
internal investigations, and lawsuits. One officer in New Jersey had
approximately 38 of these before he was finally found guilty of assault and
assessed $250,000 in compensatory damages.56 More evidence of
insensitivity to multiple accusations appeared in Kenosha, Wisconsin in

2015. The Kenosha Professional Police Association posted a billboard to

thank the community for its support (Exhibit 2). The billboard featured a
photo of a young officer. That officer did not have a record of which to boast
he had shot two people within 10 days earlier that year, killing one.
Moreover, he had nine citizen complaints and seven departmental
reprimands.57
The atmosphere in each department varies too in racism and in the
culture that turns a blind-eye to an overly-aggressive and heavy-handed
colleague.58 Whistle-blowers can be ostracized. Over 25% of officers
stated that they had witnessed their co-workers harassing a citizen and not
reported it while 52% agreed that it was not unusual for officers to turn a
blind eye.59 The low chance of conviction may also become a self-fulfilling
prophecy since, if the outcome is almost certain before one files the
complaint, many people may feel it is not worth the effort. One example is
Chicago, well-known for its lawlessness. In 2002-2004, over 10,000 people
filed complaints of police abuse. The total number resulting in meaningful
disciplinary action was 19, only .0019 of the total.60
Due to the wide growth in smartphones with video capability, police
accountability for their misactions may increase. A study in 2009
determined that $347,455 had been spent nationally in settlements and
judgments.61 That number seems low since it resulted from 5,986
complaints, but if outside videos increase conviction rates, the costs could
expand significantly for the already cash-strapped police departments.
Therefore, dashcams and body cameras might pay for themselves as they
reduce instances of violence by the police as well as the individuals that

they encounter. One randomized controlled study in Rialto, California in

2012 shows the potential. After the $1000 body cameras were introduced,
public complaints against officers plunged 88% compared with the previous
12 months. Officers use of force fell by 60%.62
As mentioned before, brutality complaints instigated by racism vary
by department, but there is much data regarding the complaints in certain
areas to validate the concerns. Studies dating back to the 1930s indicate
racism that resulted in everything from hurled racial epithets to increased
surveillance and engagement to more vicious brutality. The results of these
actions also have ignited racial tensions which then cost the cities involved
many millions. The reaction to the acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney
King in LA in 1992 resulted in more than $700 million in property damage.63
Reactions since the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown shootings have
continued to leave millions of dollars of damage in their wake, most often in
the impoverished communities where the action happened.
One media study of the city of the predominantly black Miami Gardens
determined that of the 110,754 inhabitants, 56,922 had been stopped and
questioned in 99,980 total stops and not arrested. There were 250
individuals stopped more than 20 times without an arrest and one
gentleman was stopped 258 times, including 62 arrests for trespassing at
his own place of employment.64 This city clearly exhibits the worst range of
aggression toward blacks, but since there have been no repercussions, there
is no reason to change. Each department will land somewhere on a
spectrum of racism, but clearly racism exists.

In my study of 4,439 complaints filed in 2015, race was not defined.

However, it is important to examine the types of complaints filed so that the
sheer number is not used as evidence (as is happening in the media and by
activists), but rather only those relevant to abuse of citizens are counted.
My figures are not exhaustive, but indicative of a trend. In categorizing
these complaints, it is important to segregate complaints against officers
that are not related to the fact that they are officers. Two sets of
circumstances fit this description DUI and domestic violence.
Secondly, there were many complaints related to crimes that were
unrelated to society at large. Examples include theft from the agency,
tasing a frog, poaching deer, and calling a supervisor an inappropriate
name. After setting aside these categories, the balance were the true
complaints of citizens against officers, which amounted to about half
(48.3%) of the total complaints (Exhibit 1). Therefore, we need be careful
about using the absolute number of complaints to illustrate brutality. Within
the total excessive force complaints in my study, 39% of those included
injury to the complainant and 9.3% resulted in a citizens death. Separately,
because this question arises, I looked at complaints related to sexual abuse.
In this category, I did include domestic violence complaints. The total was
13.7%.
In summarizing police complaints, while many departments have been
found to have systemic racism and scorn for whistleblowers, the numbers of
complaints about excessive force are relatively small related to the fact that
there are over 900,000 police officers in the US in any given year.65
Therefore, the belief that most officers are guilty has not been proven.

Deaths by Police
Now, we turn to the actual deaths by police. My study was for 2015
because there were so many publicized deaths recently highlighted by Black
Lives Matter. Again, we could use the total numbers, but that would be
misleading. The context is critical to understand what is happening and how
people are dying so we can address actual solutions rather than a protest
that solves nothing. In their analysis of deaths, Professor Peter Moskos and
Officer Nick Selby made some very important points. They have been able
to study violence in depth to understand the context. Then, they can
accurately determine what happened and examine the cause so that
solutions become obvious. Their point is very important:
Behind the dry statistics and chilling tallies, there are human
beings in each of these cases, on both sides of the gun. When
people begin to look at police-involved killings with an ideological
perspective whether on one extreme, that all cops are racist or
on the other, that whatever cops feel they have to do is justified
they tend to stop listening to constructive criticism. 66

Some examples of misleading statistics include whether the suspect

was armed. For instance, Michael Brown was reported as unarmed.
However, what was not reported was that he was dangerous because he
had already used his fists on the officer and reached for his gun. An article
describes another suspect reported as unarmed. This suspect was a known
suspect in a shooting with a known history of violence and weapons and was
heard to claim that he was armed. He, in fact, was a known gang member
with 17 prior arrests with 32 charges.67 (Exhibit 3) Therefore, one element
of the context I examined was whether a suspect was dangerous though not

armed, as well as those falsely believed to have a weapon such as gun

replicas or BB-guns.
A second example happened this year. A 17 year old black gang
member ran from a white officer who did not have his gun drawn and who
was part of a gang task force that tries to engage gang members to find
solutions to the violence. As the officer chased this suspect, the gang
member turned and shot the officer, killing him. The suspect continued until
he reached a dead end and was surrounded by other officers. He quickly
called his mother to say good-bye and then killed himself.68 In the statistics,
this will be listed as death by police with a white officer and a black victim.
However, that is not a fair representation of whom the victim really was in
this instance.
A third cautionary note is about implications related to the overrepresentation of blacks on the list. For example, if blacks commit more
crimes, then the statistics would not account for that. Therefore, I examined
every case and looked for lethal force against an officer or a civilian.
Officers must meet lethal force with lethal force if they are to survive as well
as protect the public. Switching perspectives for a moment, police officers
often have a millisecond to respond to a threat. They are human and want
to live and see their children grow.69 Therefore, it is not fair for the public to
judge their actions after the fact without being in the heat of the moment.
In addition, as more police officers are killed execution style just because
they are wearing a uniform, they will be more threatened by risks and may
react faster. After all, an average of 151 officers are killed yearly and over
57,000 suffer assault with 27% of those causing injuries.70 It becomes a self-

fulfilling prophecy. In addition, in some places like Baltimore and Chicago,

overall homicides are up, but arrests are down as officers do not want to be
accused of racial profiling, know videos may be taken by citizens, and do not
want to be hauled before a jury.71
Before I reveal the results, the StreetCred data set has examined the
cases in context for the last several years. Some of their results reveal the
initiation of the contacts. About one quarter (28%) of the incidents resulting
in deaths happened after a traffic stop. The majority of the killings
happened after the suspect had fired or brandished a gun or attacked
someone. Three quarters of the non-traffic stops are prompted by a
citizens call to 911. Another 20% are flagged down by citizens.72
Exaggeration or racism may color these calls and stops so that all the officer
knows is that s/he is going into a dangerous situation. This also belies the
claims that police officers are just wandering and shooting people because
of their color. While we know that cases are seriously under-prosecuted,
only 54 officers were charged over the past decade for fatally shooting
someone.73 Those cases were based on a video recording of the shooting,
a shot in the back or the testimony of another officer. In one study, in 48%
of the cases where there were witnesses, some or all of those witnesses
backed the police officers version of events.74
The results of my analysis of every police-related death (1,160) in
2015 reveal many action items. The figures compare the rate of death by
race and compares this to the US population rate for that race. For
example, blacks comprise 13.2% of the total population. The number of
deaths by police among blacks was twice the rate of their rank in the

population 26.4%. Hispanics and Native Americans were equal to their

percentages of population. Whites and Asians were less. However, while
whites make up 62.1% of the US, they accounted for 51.8% of the deaths by
police so the numbers are within 12% of each other. In addition, whites
made up the greatest absolute number at 601, which was nearly double the
307 who were black.
In terms of being armed, 72.3% of the victims were armed. However,
only 10.5% were unarmed. The other three categories that make up the
balance are in Exhibit 6. The victims came into contact with the officers in
six different ways while committing a crime (63.7%), being wanted (14%),
terrorism (0.6%), mistaken identity (0.1%), while in custody (3.9%), by
accident (4.3%), and seeking suicide by cop (11.9% - most of these were
armed). (Exhibit 7) Those last three categories will be addressed in the
solutions section. Persons with apparent mental illness made up 10.6% of
the victims and 8% were intoxicated with either alcohol or drugs. Other
studies have shown that up to a quarter of victims of police may have a
mental illness.75 In many of those cases, police had been warned that it was
a mental health crisis so the opportunity would have existed to send in a
specialized mental health crisis team.
In terms of the causes of death, guns were by far the highest at
88.2%. The other causes included Tasers (4%), cars (3%), and other (4.3%).
Officers surely need Taser training because too many people are dying when
there was no lethal intent. There are instances when three officers tased an
individual in the chest at once, which can cause cardiac arrest. The
Guardian found that only 12 of the 29 police department rulebooks that they

obtained explicitly advised against shocks to the chest.76 Given that Taser
International funds the lions share of the research, it is not surprising that
more warnings are not issued.
In only 35 cases were there repercussions for the officer(s) involved,
although this must be qualified since 69.1% are still under investigation. In
the cases with repercussions, 50% of the victims were white and 41.2%
were black so, in fact, black victims are receiving justice at a higher rate
than their percentage of the incidents.
There are several means to look at these deaths in context, meaning
the instances that did not involve a lethal threat to the police officer or the
public. By the three races representing 95% of the overall deaths, I
examined accidents, instances that do not look justified, instances where
there was no crime, terrorism or wanted individual involved, suicides, and
unarmed (and not dangerous) civilians. (Exhibit 8) There are three
instances where blacks are overrepresented relative to their total number of
deaths being unarmed, accidents, and cases where it does not look
justified. Therefore, rather than looking at the overall percentage of deaths
where they are overrepresented, but could be caused by a higher crime rate
among blacks overall, the results of this study into the context of the deaths
demonstrate that blacks do have a grievance against the police.
A caveat for this data is important. With 1 million police officers
and in the range of 950-1100 police-involved killings per year, as Pete
Moskos advises, Very few people, white or black, will ever be shot or killed
by police.77

We have seen that blacks have been overrepresented in the total number of
police killings. However, since no deaths would be the goal, a section is
needed to look at solutions suggested by all the information above. Given
the current length of this paper, I have summarized the suggestions in
Exhibit 9 these are from various sources including the DOJ Ferguson report,
Black Lives Matters policy statements, an excellent book entitled, The
Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America by D. Watkins,
suggestions from Nick Selby and The Guardian as well as implications from
the analysis done of the deaths in context. I have grouped these under the
four subsections of policing the departments, training opportunities,
procedural changes, and efforts to integrate and engage youth and potential
criminals.
In summary, as the Black Lives Matter movement matures, their
challenge will be to stem the tide of violence against black men and
women while working to fix what activists believe is a fragmented and
broken society.simply believing in something isnt sufficient to change the
status quo.78 The emphasis must increasingly focus on practical solutions
as well as forging a relationship with the police departments. The current
adversarial positions help no one and change will not happen.

Exhibit 1
Analysis of police complaints
Category
DUI
Domestic Violence
Crimes unrelated to the
public
Crime against the
public
Total

Percentage of
total
9.9%
11.5%
30.2%
48.3%
99.9%

Exhibit 2
Kenosha Billboard

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/26/wisconsin-police-billboard-pablo-torres

Exhibit 3
The unarmed victim

Source: https://medium.com/@nselby/armed-versus-unarmed-methods-tactics-b02c485c3580#.uv7h1kcr6

Exhibit 4
On Duty Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities 2004-2014

Source: http://www.vocativ.com/191624/being-a-cop-isnt-getting-more-dangerous-says-data/

Exhibit 5
Total Police Deaths by Cause 2014*

On duty
Shot
Assault pursuit

Unintentional
Job-related Illness
Bomb
Fire
Drowning
Gun accident
Car accidents
Heart attacks

Total

90
44
134

5
6
1
2
5
72
40
131
265

* Note that the numbers do not tie with other statistics because several
sources are used and there is no official count.
Source: Personal analysis of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_police_officers_killed_in_the_li
ne_of_duty

Exhibit 6
Armed vs Unarmed Among all police deaths

Status
Armed
Unarmed
Threatened with car
Police believed they were
armed
Unarmed, but dangerous

Percentage
72.3%
10.5%
4.9%
3.0%
8.6%

Exhibit 7
Cause of police interaction
Cause
Committing a crime
Wanted
Terrorism
Mistaken identity
Accident (primarily hit by a
police car)
Suicide by Cop

* 72.9% of these were armed

Percentage
63.7%
14%
0.6%
0.1%
4.3%
11.9%*

Exhibit 8
Deaths in context by race

Context
Accident
Does not look justified
No crime, wanted,
terrorism
Suicides
Unarmed
% of US population*
% of total deaths

Whit
Hispa
e
Black nic
47.1
33.6
%
% 11.8%
43.6
32.5
%
% 21.1%
62.8
20.2
%
% 11.6%
61.1
18.9
%
% 14.7%
47.5
34.4
%
% 13.9%
62.1
%
51.8
%

13.2
% 17.4%
26.4
% 16.8%

* Source: Calculated on figures based on

http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00

Exhibit 9
Possible solutions
Many of these suggestions come from the US DOJ report on Ferguson.79
In addition, some are from Campaign Zero, the Black Lives Matter policy
goals.80
This book had excellent ideas: The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While
Black in America81
Others are my ideas or their sources are noted in the footnotes.
Improve Policing
Move from the police department policing itself to civilian oversight
Change atmosphere to encourage whistle blowing and submission of concerns
Many officers are repeat offenders there needs to be early intervention and close
monitoring
Convicted officers should pay for their own judgments, rather than have the
department pay
Conduct an analysis of data by shift and by other details to discover problems 82
Explore the current minimal consequences of complaints
Full use of body cameras and dash cam those with complaints will not be able to
turn them off upon leaving the vehicle
Examine private correctional facilities and cost cutting measures that endanger
inmate health
Create a community-based partnership to gain business perspective on oversight
Increase Training
How to find nonviolent solutions or a less lethal response
Definitions of reasonable use of force
De-escalation of situations
Scenario-based training to make it instinctual
Gun training under stress
Appropriate engagement with youth, LGBTQ, non-English speakers, the disabled,
those with mental health issues, and the intoxicated
Mental health and how to approach someone who is suicidal 83
Appropriate and correct use of Tasers people should not be dying by them 84
Explore individual situational racial bias training where they determine whether
they shot more when black
Supervisory training
Responding to a call use of lights and ignoring signs/stoplights to avoid accidents
When to not pursue someone fleeing level of danger to society
Police chase safety
Procedural adaptations
Keep track nationally of deaths by police nationally, perhaps by adding to the
current National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and then fund totally so
it can cover all the states, not just 36. Make sure the information is created to
allow analysis by context
Create an app to record complaints, similar to True the Votes app to report voter
fraud
Make it simpler to file complaint
More independent research on Tasers

Requirement to document suicidal ideation and depression upon booking into

custody and then keep constant watch camera in the cell?
Assure all institutions are complying with inmate medication requirements
Ferguson DOJ fines source of income, threaten with arrest
Recruit more minorities as officers
Examine individual departments for trends of abuse
End for-profit policing practices change focus to community safety
Develop mental health response teams, including healthcare professionals and
social workers, for first response.
Focus on major crimes, not marijuana, disorderly conduct, simple trespassing,
loitering, spitting, loud music
Create an app to track activities and stops, similar to the Brightwheel app that
records preschool activities during the day
Ban chokeholds, hogtying, and other potentially dangerous practices
Evaluate the need for a police chase if the suspect is not about to commit a violent
crime
End quotas for tickets and arrests
Discretion to adjust fines based on ability to pay or offer alternatives like
community service
Examine use of arrest warrants for fines
Examine appropriateness of military weaponry
Examine no-knock raid policy
Examine police union policies that interfere with investigations
Examine what roles reservists will play since not as practiced in certain types of
calls85
Examine drug laws and what should be criminal
Study the format of information on suspects to make it simple to understand their
background while driving a police cruiser
Promoting interaction and preventing crimes
Extend rec center hours
Hold job fairs and provide training in resumes, interviews, etc.
Create situations for interactions with local companies
Hold Youth gang summits
Create a group that allows Interaction between police, youth, and their parents so
all can understand each others concerns and understand perspective fear, lack
of respect, anger
More programs like DARE (which involves about 70,000 officers) to promote
common understanding
Let youth take the Shoot/No Shoot simulators to understand the police officers
perspective
Help others understand police activities ride-alongs
Initiate Scared Straight programs early in the court process
Have the youth start a business that they run to understand and respect business
owners
Create opportunity for youth to provide input on complaints and needs to provide
perspective
Make education relevant - teach practical skills for careers
Examine local education shortfalls
Promote literacy
Determine why they seem to have given up hope and work together to resolve the
issues
Reach them through social media, where most are focused

Confiscate cell phones at the door of school and other sessions to promote more
attention.
Examine lack of opportunity high unemployment rate for blacks and youth
Examine nutrition shortfalls

Exhibit 10
Spreading the false narrative

http://cdn.newsbusters.org/styles/blog_body100/s3/images/CNN%20Newsroom-HandsUpDontShootDec13-b_0.jpg
http://cdn.newsbusters.org/styles/blog_body80/s3/images/NBC%20Nightly%20News%20%2006_31_20%20PM_0.jpg

http://cdn.newsbusters.org/styles/blog_body100/s3/images/Cspan_hands_up_don't_shoot%20%281%29.jpg

http://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/screen-shot-2015-01-19-at-2-49-10pm.png

http://www.norcalblogs.com/postscripts/files/2015/03/congress2345.jpg

Endnotes

1 US Dept of Justice press release, Attorney General Holder Delivers Update on

Investigations in Ferguson, Missouri.
2 Freivogel, Why Did the Justice Department Conclude That Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was
a Myth?
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Capehart, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was Built on a Lie.
7 Grinberg, Why Hands Up, Dont Shoot Resonates regardless of Evidence.
8 Freivogel, Why Did the Justice Department Conclude That Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was
a Myth?
9 White Construction Workers Witness Mike Brown Being Shot with Hands up.
10 Ellis, Dorian Johnson: Darren Wilson Allies Reportedly Fighting for Perjury Charges
against Michael Browns Friend.
11 Capehart, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was Built on a Lie.
12 Freivogel, Why Did the Justice Department Conclude That Hands Up, Dont Shoot
Was a Myth?
13 Capehart, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was Built on a Lie.
14 sundance, Ferguson, Missouri Protests Continue Led By Anthony Shahid The Local
Professional Agitator.
15 Batz, Whos Afraid of Anthony Shahid?
16 Ibid.
17 Harris, Will Ferguson Be a Moment or a Movement?
18 Day, #BlackLivesMatter: The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement.
19 Pearce, Actors Quit L.A. Ferguson Play, Question Writers Motives.
20 The Economist/YouGov, The Economist/YouGov Poll, 13.

21 Ibid., 14.
22 Healy, Ferguson Report Puts Hands Up to Reality Test.
23 Day, #BlackLivesMatter: The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement.
24 Flanders, Building Movements Without Shedding Differences: Alicia Garza of
#BlackLivesMatter.
25 Day, #BlackLivesMatter: The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement.
26 Zald and MacCarthy, Social Movements in an Organizational Society, 1617.
27 Ibid., 18.
28 Grinberg, Why Hands Up, Dont Shoot Resonates regardless of Evidence.
29 Jackson, Race Pimping.
30 Stahl, Rev. Al Sharpton, The refined Agitator.
31 Day, #BlackLivesMatter: The Birth of a New Civil Rights Movement.
32 WORLDS GREATEST LEADERS.
33 Marsh, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Never Happened, But Networks Keep Using It.
34 Kessler, The Biggest Pinocchios of 2015.
35 Zald and MacCarthy, Social Movements in an Organizational Society, 19.
36 Hands Up, Dont Shoot Becomes Rallying Cry despite Questions Whether Hands
Were Raised High.
37 Healy, Ferguson Report Puts Hands Up to Reality Test.
38 Cooper and Eisenbaum, Motive Revealed in Deadly Shooting of Deputy Darren
Goforth.
39 FBI National Press Office, FBI Releases 2014 Preliminary Statistics for Law
Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty.
40 Marsh, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Never Happened, But Networks Keep Using It.
41 Capehart, Hands Up, Dont Shoot Was Built on a Lie.

42 Ibid.
43 Lopez, Next Time Someone Tells You all Lives Matter, show Them This Cartoon.
44 Hickford, Crime Expert Releases SHOCKING New Statistics about Black Men Killed by
Cops.
45 Jones, In U.S., Confidence in Police Lowest in 22 Years.
46 Ibid.
47 Frosch and Calvert, Michael Brown: Ferguson Death Fires Black Lives Matter
Movement.
48 Harris, Will Ferguson Be a Moment or a Movement?
49 Foran, A Year of Black Lives Matter.
50 Kristian, Seven Reasons Police Brutality Is Systemic, Not Anecdotal.
51 Cato Institute, National Police Misconduct Reporting Project.
52 Kindy, FBI to Sharply Expand System for Tracking Fatal Police Shootings.
53 Selby, Unarmed and Killed by Police: A Closer Look.
54 Selby and Singelton, Lead with Data: The Jeremy Mardis Incident.
55 Stausser, Report: 99 Percent Of Police Brutality Reports In Central New Jersey Never
See The Light Of Day.
56 Ibid.
57 Sullivan, Wisconsin Police Billboard Features Officer Who Shot Two People in 10
Days.
58 Eyre, Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality.
59 Ibid.
60 Ibid.
61 Dantes, Police Brutality Statistics.
62 Carroll, California Police Use of Body Cameras Cuts Violence and Complaints.

63 Race as a Factor.
64 Friedersdorf, The City Where Blacks Suffer Under Stop and Frisk on Steroids.
65 NLEOMF, Law Enforcement Facts.
66 Moskos and Selby, Just Counting People Killed by Police Wont Fix Problems. We Need
Better Data.
67 Selby, Armed, versus Unarmed: Methods & Tactics.
68 Lee and Sanders, Greenville Police Officer Killed; Suspect Shot, Killed Himself.
69 Fox News, Omaha Police Officer Killed in Shootout Just Hours before Going on Maternity
Leave. One female officer in Omaha was recently killed the day before she was to take her
maternity leave upon
bringing her premature baby home.

70 NLEOMF, Law Enforcement Facts.

71 Elder, Black Lives Matter Getting Blacks Killed.
72 Moskos and Selby, Just Counting People Killed by Police Wont Fix Problems. We Need
Better Data.
73 Kindy and Kelly, Thousands Dead, Few Prosecuted.
74 Selby, Finding More Evidence Than Just The Word of the Cops.
75 Lowery et al., Distraught People, Deadly Results.
76 Laughland, Bolts from the Blue.
77 Richardson, Police Kill More Whites than Blacks, but Minority Deaths Generate More
Outrage.
78 Foran, A Year of Black Lives Matter.
79 US Department of Justice, Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.
80 Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matters Activists Outline Policy Goals.
81 Watkins and Talbot, The Beast Side.
82 Selby, Making Police Data Open: Use of Force & Complaints in Context.

83 Dart, Three Cops, a 17-Year-Old and a Cry for Help: Why Did Kristiana Coignard Die?
84 Laughland, Bolts from the Blue.
85 Selby and Singelton, Lead with Data: The Jeremy Mardis Incident.

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