Time to Admit: 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Is a Lie

Jonathan Capehart: Michael Brown wasn't killed while surrendering
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2015 12:41 PM CDT
Time to Admit: 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Is a Lie
A demonstrator holds his hands up on campus at Boston University during a protest last year after the shooting in Ferguson.   (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

It's time for "hands up, don't shoot" to go away, because it was "built on a lie," writes liberal columnist Jonathan Capehart in the Washington Post. Capehart was among those voicing outrage about another black man's death at the hands of police in the immediate aftermath of Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson. But as the exhaustive Justice Department investigation into the shooting makes clear, the narrative that Brown got shot as he held up his hands in surrender is a false one. In fact, the shooting was justified, writes Capehart.

Now, the other Justice Department report about systemic racism in Ferguson explains why the Brown shooting set off so much public anger, and why it's more important than ever to demand change across the nation. "But we must 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," writes Capehart. "And when we discover that we have, we must acknowledge it, admit our error, and keep on marching. That’s what I’ve done here." Click for his full post. (More Michael Brown stories.)

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