Several incidents have focused national attention on perceived police misconduct.  Often the media quickly stir up a controversy with articles based on limited facts and speculation.  The public forms opinions based on incomplete, inaccurate reports, and then comes down on one side or the other.

For example, in my small hometown of Elizabeth City, N.C., deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown, Jr. while serving warrants.  Early press reports focused on the deputies wearing body armor and carrying military-style rifles, like a scene out of a crime drama on TV.

For a brief period, the incident was national news.  The Reverend Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for Andrew Brown, and Attorney Ben Crump, who also represents George Floyd's family, is representing the family in a lawsuit.

It was 8:30 A.M. on April 21, 2021 when seven deputies from the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Department arrived in the back of a pickup truck at Brown's residence.  They had hoped to surprise him, but Brown was already sitting in his car.  The police vehicle blocked the driveway, so he attempted to flee by driving across the lawn.  Three of the deputies opened fire with their rifles, hitting Brown five times, including a fatal wound to the back of his head.

Early media reports provided a paucity of facts, but locals quickly formed opinions, pro or con, of the shooting.  Soon there were protest rallies downtown and marches blocking traffic.

An attorney for the Brown family called it an execution.  He contended that Andrew Brown posed no threat to the deputies because he was just trying to get away.  The lawyer ominously characterized the deputies as using "assault weapons" to shoot him in the back.

One focus of the protests was the slow release of body cam video because in N.C., a judge has to review the videos before authorizing their release.  This legal procedure is in place because public release of videos could poison the jury pool if criminal charges were eventually lodged.  Even now, only some body cam footage has been released to the public, although Brown's attorney and family viewed the videos privately.

Over the following weeks, details began to be reported.  Brown was only 42 years old, but he had a long criminal record including a felony conviction for drug-dealing when he was 20.  His rap sheet included a dozen felony convictions, and he had spent a total of over 72 months in prison.

Early reporting referred to only a "warrant," leading people to believe they were serving search warrants.  But two of the warrants were arrest warrants from another county.  They even had video of him selling cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant.

The D.A. argued that the deputies were threatened because some of them were in front of the vehicle.  The car even brushed some of the deputies.  The large number of armed deputies was necessary because in the past, Brown had been charged with resisting arrest ten times.

No charges have been filed against the deputies, but there is an ongoing federal civil case.  The protests have mostly settled down, although occasionally there is a small rally or march.

The shooting made a brief splash on national news, but the media lost interest as details came out.  Some national articles reported relevant events, such as when the autopsy was made public and when video from the body cams was released.  But Brown made an unsympathetic subject, and the deputies were cleared of any wrongdoing, so there was no feeding frenzy by the press.

When violent events appear in the news, wait until the facts come out before forming an opinion.  And remember that the media have a vested interest in fanning the flames of controversy in order to get clicks or views in order to sell advertising.

Image: Pixabay.