teenvogue:How Michael Brown’s Death Awakened A Nation to Police BrutalityFour years ago today, an un
teenvogue:How Michael Brown’s Death Awakened A Nation to Police BrutalityFour years ago today, an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In an instant, police brutality and the outcry that black lives matter were brought to the front of the nation’s consciousness.Michael’s death galvanized the nation in a manner never seen before. It didn’t just inspire protests — it helped spark a movement that has captured the country’s collective heart, mind, and soul. Instances of police brutality are being recorded by everyday people, hashtags are used to advocate for legislative change, and the stories of unarmed black men and women subjected to excessive force are being told. Michael Brown’s death awakened the nation to the data and circumstances around brutality, and the systemic problems that allow officers to routinely avoid any discipline.Below, learn more about the circumstances of Michael’s death, as well as other significant incidents of police brutality:Michael BrownAfter Michael Brown was shot to death by now-retired-officer Darren Wilson, it was determined that Michael was unarmed. A grand jury decided against indicting Darren, and the Department of Justice sided with that decision. The DOJ found that the city of Ferguson was violating the civil rights of its black citizens and sued the city so that they would put reform plans into motion.Tamir RiceThree months after Michael Brown was shot to death, Tamir Rice was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, while playing with an Airsoft replica toy gun in a city park. After a resident erroneously told police that a boy was walking around with a gun, two officers descended onto the scene, with 26-year-old officer Timothy Loehmann shooting and killing Tamir in under two seconds after leaving his patrol car. Although he was deemed to be “emotionally unstable” and “unfit to be an officer” by the Independence Police Force prior to joining Cleveland’s police force earlier that year, a grand jury decided not to indict Loehmann or his partner, Frank Garmback.Laquan McDonaldAlthough Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times in under a minute by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke a month before Tamir Rice, the dashboard camera footage wasn’t released until over a year later on Nov. 24, 2015. A month later, Jason was indicted by a grand jury on six counts of first-degree murder. Laquan’s death not only incited massive protests throughout the city, but Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and then-Cook County state’s attorney Anita Alvarez were widely criticized for delaying the investigation which many people believe led to Anita Alvarez losingher re-election bid.Continue reading: Getty Images -- source link