# "Police shoot black man" - what's your first reaction/conclusion to the headline? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560 "2018-04-17T04:48:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/41 "2018-04-18T00:35:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Any person shot by police usually was posing a lethal threat the public and to the police. > > Sadly mistakes do get made. They are rare. Police officers can’t read minds and sometimes they reach the wrong conclusion. > > A disturbed man wildly waving a phone around might look like a man with a gun, on a dark night. I’m having difficulty spotting anything actually addressing the OP in this ramble. Oh well, it’s probably just me, I’m tired and feeling brain dead… > [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not sure what the obession is about making this a race thing. > > Criminals wear hoodies and sometimes ski masks. The cops don’t know who they are chasing late at night. They are chasing a criminal. Eventually they may see his hands. > > A lot of shootings happen when people do incredibly stupid crap. Thankfully, in this case, he lived another day to steal again. > > I’m not sure why today’s career criminals want to fight it out. Getting busted used to be the price of doing business. > > [Glue gun-wielding career criminal yelled ‘f–k you’ to cops](https://nypost.com/2018/04/17/glue-gun-wielding-career-criminal-yelled-f-k-you-to-cops/) Nope. It’s not me. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/42 "2018-04-18T00:57:33Z")
Isn’t this badly worded thread about police shootings and your reaction to sensationalized police reports? If not then I’ll bow out. I got better things to do. I’m not interjecting race into law enforcement. That accomplishes nothing except to bitterly divide our nation. Leaving a dangerous degree of anger and resentment. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/43 "2018-04-18T01:02:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Isn’t this badly worded thread about police shootings and your reaction to sensationalized police reports? > > If not then I’ll bow out. I got better things to do. “Police-shoot-black-man.” What-is-your-first-reaction-to-this-headline? Not difficult to grok. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/44 "2018-04-18T01:11:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m not sure what the obession is about making this a race thing. > > Criminals wear hoodies and sometimes ski masks. The cops don’t know who they are chasing late at night. They are chasing a criminal. Eventually they may see his hands. > > A lot of shootings happen when people do incredibly stupid crap. Thankfully, in this case, he lived another day to steal again. > > I’m not sure why today’s career criminals want to fight it out. Getting busted used to be the price of doing business. > > [Glue gun-wielding career criminal yelled ‘f–k you’ to cops](https://nypost.com/2018/04/17/glue-gun-wielding-career-criminal-yelled-f-k-you-to-cops/) So black = criminal? Very informative post. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/45 "2018-04-18T01:18:58Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s appropriate for a headline to mention race **when race is significant** , as it is given that evidence. But they don’t have that. Oh, the reporter _wishes_ they had that story, but all they have is a dead liquor store robber. That’s not going to get clicks. That’s not going to pay the bills. Nobody’s going to read a story about a dead guy who deserved it and a cop who did his job, and “nobody’s going to read it” just ain’t gonna cut it for this reporter. > [@Gyrate](#): > > And which, in your experience, is more common and has a more significant impact: people mentioning race when it isn’t relevant, or people not mentioning race when it is? People mentioning race when it isn’t relevant. Easily. Clearly. By a lot. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/46 "2018-04-18T01:33:40Z")
My first reaction to that headline is a tone deaf reporter. There’s no need to include race in the headline. Any legitimate reporter should be sensitive to the family’s feelings and shouldn’t exploit their misfortune with an inflammatory headline. Personal information in the copy is useful. A photo can provide a lot of information too. Without creating data search engines can pick up and expliot. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/47 "2018-04-18T01:38:42Z")
All quibbling aside, when I hear the police have killed a black man, I expect the shooting to turn out to have been unjustified. I also expect the shooter(s) to be cleared of any charges after an extended paid vacation. Facts do not always bear out my instinctive reaction, but they do far more often than is right. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/48 "2018-04-18T02:15:19Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > My first reaction would be to wonder if he was armed or not. And if not, I’d shake my head and wish yet again that people were taught to drop **anything** (except a baby) they’re holding when confronted by police. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > I was never taught that. I bet most white folks were never taught that. On the few occasions I’ve been confronted by police, I’ve never dropped anything, nor did they say or do anything that suggested that was a problem. But maybe if we **were** all taught that you should drop whatever you’re holding when confronted by the police, all of these people wouldn’t have been shot: [ul] [li][Cop Shoots Woman Holding Spatula](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-03-26/news/9503260204_1_silver-object-police-office-of-professional-standards)[/li][li][Tennessee Police Fatally Shoot Woman Holding BB Gun](https://www.thedailybeast.com/tennessee-police-fatally-shoot-woman-holding-bb-gun)[/li][li][Teen shot by San Jose cop while holding drill ID’d](https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Teen-shot-by-San-Jose-cop-while-holding-drill-ID-d-5696601.php)[/li][li][Black Man Shot With Vape Device Mistaken For Gun](https://www.ecassoc.org/man-shot-vape-device-not-gun/)[/li][li][Blind man tasered after his walking stick was mistaken for a gun by armed police officers](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/24/blind-man-tasered-walking-stick-mistaken-gun-armed-police-officers/)[/li][li][Caregiver shot by police after toy truck mistaken for gun](https://wsvn.com/news/local/police-investigate-shooting-in-north-miami-1-injured/)[/li][li][Police Shot Woman Holding Cell Phone](https://www.ocweekly.com/police-shot-woman-holding-cell-phone-and-federal-judge-blocks-her-civil-rights-lawsuit-6474788/)[/li][li][Pa. cop shot man holding underwear, mistaken for gun](https://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/6296075-Pa-cop-shot-man-holding-underwear-mistaken-for-gun/) [/li][li][Cops shot elderly man dead after crucifix was mistaken for gun](https://nypost.com/2016/12/14/cops-shot-elderly-man-dead-after-crucifix-was-mistaken-for-gun/)[/li][li][Police kill man carrying pipe mistaken for gun](https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-washington-post/20180405/281629600836589) [/li][li][Alabama Police Officer Shoots Teen Holding Cell Phone](https://www.themaven.net/pinacnews/police-brutality/alabama-police-officer-shoots-teen-holding-cell-phone-gWiHNB85LUGtzXzqdfj0Rw/)[/li][li][Wallet Mistaken For Gun](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wallet-mistaken-for-gun/) [/li][li][Vietnamese community protests the shooting of woman holding a kitchen tool](http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jul/22/local/me-sjshoot22)[/li][li][Bible Mistaken for Gun in Shooting](http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93993&page=1)[/li][li][Virginia Police Kill Black Woman Holding Fake Gun](https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com/1660440/virginia-police-kill-black-woman-holding-fake-gun/)[/li][li][New York police sergeant shoots dead naked woman holding scissors](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3850220/New-York-police-sergeant-shoots-dead-66-year-old-mentally-ill-woman-brandishing-scissors-baseball-bat-naked.html)[/li][li][Teen Shot, Killed By Police Was Holding Wii Video Game Controller](http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/02/19/attorney-teen-shot-killed-by-police-was-holding-wii-video-game-controller/)[/li][li][Metal object in fatal police shooting was a welding torch](https://wtop.com/national/2018/04/metal-object-in-fatal-ny-police-shooting-was-a-welding-torch/)[/li][li][NYC Police Shoot Dead Teen Holding Hairbrush Mistaken for Gun](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/11/13/nyc-police-shoot-dead-teen-holding-hairbrush-mistaken-for-gun.html)[/li][li][Navajo Woman Holding Medical Scissors Shot + Killed By Arizona Police](https://www.wlib.com/news/entertainment/navajo-woman-holding-medical-scissors-shot-killed-arizona-police-video?&items_per_page=5&page=35) [/li][li][St. Louis Cop Shoots Unarmed African American Teen, Holding Sandwich](http://countercurrentnews.info/2014/10/st-louis-cop-shoots-unarmed-african-american-teen-holding-sandwich/)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/49 "2018-04-18T02:33:06Z")
My first reaction? Let’s get the whole story before proceeding further. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/50 "2018-04-18T06:31:13Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I would have no immediate thoughts on whether it was justified or not, but I would think the source of the article was clearly showing their agenda. Pretty much this. Biased media pushing a narrative. If they were being strictly objective, the headline would have been “man shot by police near State Street 7-Eleven” or some such non-judgmental headline. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/51 "2018-04-18T07:20:38Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I don’t know whether Alessan actually thinks that way or not but…wow. If its in the news it’s probably unjustified? That’s putting an awful lot of blind faith in the media. As it turns out, some of the most highly publicized shootings ended up with no charges against the officers or acquittal at trial. That’s putting an awful lot of blind faith in the justice system. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/52 "2018-04-18T08:04:18Z")
Bear in mind that I don’t live in the United States. If I read about an American police shooting all the way out here, I’m going to assume something significantly wrong happened; given the events of the past few years, chances are the police done fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/53 "2018-04-18T08:38:37Z")
I would also assume it was an American story, by that phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/54 "2018-04-18T09:44:11Z")
The race of the person being shot may or may not be relevant. If it is not relevant, it does not belong in the headline. The headline writer almost assuredly does not know, at “press time”, whether the race is relevant. So the headline writer, in mentioning race, is almost always irresponsibly stirring up shit. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/55 "2018-04-18T14:09:50Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Suppose you read a headline in tomorrow’s news - “Police Shoot Black Man” - what is your immediate split-second reaction or conclusion \*\*before \*\*any facts or details have emerged in the story? > Also, would it change your view/conclusion if the headline read “Police Shoot Black Suspect” or some other potentially opinion-leading wording instead of “Man/Individual/Person?” My first impression is that the newspaper is engaged in race-baiting to increase sales. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/56 "2018-04-18T14:20:44Z")
After seeing so many instances where the shooting is completely unjustified, my reaction will be that this is just another case of trigger-happy cops going wild. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/57 "2018-04-18T16:24:39Z")
I’d assume unjustified. Race only makes it into a headline if a black person has been presumably wronged. When’s the last time you saw “Police shoot white man?” Likewise, race is almost always omitted (sometimes even in the story), when a person’s criminality is beyond dispute. “White” makes it into a headline if talking about supremacy, privilege, inequality, and false accusations or made up claims (invariably by the white person). Same race crime almost never gets called out in a headline. Broad brush and always true? No. But that’s the trend as I see it. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/58 "2018-04-18T17:50:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My first reaction to that headline is a tone deaf reporter. I don’t think the reporter is the one who is tone deaf here regarding race. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/59 "2018-04-18T20:56:55Z")
I didn’t vote for either. I would have said “The newspaper clearly thinks the shooting was unjustified.” I make no assumptions. Cops can be stupid, racist or incompetent like anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560/60 "2018-04-18T21:37:04Z")
I can’t vote because I wouldn’t make any assumptions based on the limited information. It find it troubling that the headline would specify race, and this might make me guess an unjustified shooting, but I wouldn’t assume that until I knew more details. Headline writers mess up sometimes, as does anyone relaying a story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-shoot-black-man-whats-your-first-reaction-conclusion-to-the-headline/812560.md?page=4)