In American Popular Culture, There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Police Shooting

“Decade after decade, pop culture has continued to churn out stories that justify and even lionize officers who kill. These stories first turned shootings – and they are almost always shootings – into acts of last resort by noble policemen, and later into exciting executions of dangerous villains. Hollywood has promoted the very myths that result in our being shocked when we see an officer shoot a fleeing person or fire into a parked car, as well as an inflated narrative of valor that generates a near-automatic presumption of the guilt of those killed by police.”