Two recent police involved shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte have amplified the ongoing debate over use of deadly force involving African Americans stopped by law enforcement.
Once again, talking heads and some politicians are citing the need for a national conversation about race, police procedures and how they intersect. And once again, much of that converation has played out on social media.
Reactions to the deaths of Terence Crutcher, 40, last Friday in Tulsa, Okla. and Keith Lamont Scott, 43, on Tuesday in Charlotte, NC flooded Twitter and Facebook this week. Both men were shot by police officers who were subsequently placed on administrative leave.
In the case of Scott, the Charlotte police chief said Wednesday that Scott had a gun when he was shot by an officer. Scott's family, however, maintains that just before the shooting he was sitting in his car, reading a book while he waited for one of his children to get out of school. Charlotte police said their investigation so far hasn't found the reported book.
In Crutcher's case, video footage from a police cruiser's dashboard camera and a police helicopter showed the events leading up to his death. The image of Crutcher walking unarmed, with his hands up as police trained their weapons on him reinforced the views of some in the public that African American men face uneven treatment from law enforcement. Audio from the helicopter recorded a police official describing Crutcher as someone who appeared to be a "bad dude."
While people are expressing outrage, concern and dismay through hashtags, it is unclear whether those expressions will spur the important discussions that some say must take place to address use of force policies in police departments nationwide.
Though there appears to have been some softening of viewpoints, comments from high-profile public figures display reactions that are often divided. And in some cases, where a public statement on the issue might be expected, there has been silence.
For example, the Fraternal Order of Police -- the organization which represents law enforcement officers -- has not issued statements in either the Crutcher or Scott cases. However, at least one officer -- the Middletown Ohio Police Chief -- saw his comments begin to go viral when he vented his frustrations Wednesday morning on Twitter. "As an officer I am so sick and drained of some cops doing things like this. You are making us all look bad. STOP. #TerenceCruthcher (SIC)" wrote Chief Rodney Muterspaw before his account was placed on a private setting.
Here is what politicians, celebrities, pundits and others with a platform have had to say about the spate of shootings:
Rush Limbaugh on Facebook: "It seems like violence and property destruction are the judge-and-jury justice that we have today. The mob determines right and wrong and then hands down the sentence then and there."
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