Brooke Prince

Notebook # 3
3a. Tell the story of your research. What turns did it take? What were your missed opportunities
and what were your unexpected scores?
Because this became more lenthy than ! anticipated" ! put headins so it#d be easier to follow
and skim throuh.
Initial research
!nitially all ! knew about the $eruson case" and situations like this in eneral was %ust
word of mouth from friends and family" no research done on my behalf. Now that !#m further
into the pro%ect ! ha&e compiled my own knowlede of the $eruson case 'in particular( from all
different types of sources.
)t first ! started with two basic sources one was a *NN report of an inter&iew done with
the $eruson police chief" and the other was a +uffinton post article i&in the storyline. Both
sources a&e me a &ery basic understandin of what we know happened" and possibilities of
what also could ha&e occurred. ) huffinton post article titled $eruson Police ,epartment Will
Not -elease Name .f .fficer !n&ol&ed !n /ichael Brown 0hootin explains that the shootin
took place on )uust 1th around noon" where police say an unarmed )frican )merican '/ichael
Brown( was shot at least six times by a white police officer.
What we do know as fact is that /ichael Brown and a friend of his were walkin in the
middle of the street when the officer asked them to et out of the road" there were words
exchaned between both. 0ome sources such as ,orian 2ohnson a friend of Brown#s who was
there said that he could see the officers face as he lined up next to them" sayin somethin to the
extent of 3what did you say?4 )t the same time 2ohnson says the officer opened his car door
bumpin aainst Brown causin the door to slam shut aain. )t this point the officer then rabs
Brown by the neck. )s this is occurrin 2ohnson obser&es the officer closely as he pulls out what
appears to be a un. 3! seen the barrel of the un pointed at my friend"4 he said. 3+e had it
pointed at him and said 5!#ll shoot"# one more time.4 0econds later 2ohnson reports hearin the
first fire of the un. 2ohnson said he was inches away from the altercation. +e looked o&er at
Brown and noticed the pool of blood flowin out of his shirt. 3The whole time 6the officer7 was
holdin my friend until the un went off"4 2ohnson noted. That#s when 2ohnson and Brown took
off runnin. 2ohnson ducked behind one car as he watched Brown flee e&en further. Keep
running, bro!, he said Brown yelled. Then Brown yelled it a second time. Those would be the
last words 2ohnson#s friend" 3Bi /ike"4 would e&er say to him accordin to a *NN recap. Then
the second shot was fired hittin Brown in the back. )t this point 2ohnson reports that Brown had
his hands up sayin" 3! don#t ha&e a un" stop shootin84'Pundit" )llah(
Unexpected Scores
! had more unexpected scores rather than missed opportunities when researchin this
sub%ect. .ne of which was pro&ided by a New 9ork Times article titled" Timeline $or a Body: ;
+ours in the /iddle of a $eruson street. !n this article it explains the unprofessionalism of this
case. Brown#s body was layin in perfect eye of the public for a little under four hours. 3The
delay helped fuel the outrae"4 said Patricia Byrnes" a committeewoman in $eruson. 3!t was
&ery disrespectful to the community and the people who li&e there. !t also sent the messae from
law enforcement that 5we can do this to you any day" any time" in broad dayliht" and there#s
nothin you can do about it.4 ,irectly <uotes the article. Not only did the public witness his
corpse" but his family disco&ered it as well. 'Bosman" 2ulie" and 2oseph =oldstein(
)nother oldmine ! unra&eled was a well said +uffinton post article titled as"
*onser&ati&e /edia *o&erae of /ichael Brown>s ?illin !s @mbarrassin. This is more so
opinionated but it a&e reat statistics that support racial profilin. !t addresses the di&ide
caucasians and )frican )merican#s face when dealin with law enforcement" and how it can be a
&ery different outcome.' +ansen" ,ale(
)s <uoted from the article" 3Pat -oberts of the supposedlyA*hristian 700 Club suested
/ichael Brown miht ha&e been on drus. !s that an example of lettin all the facts come out
before drawin a conclusion? Pat ,ollard wrote an article claimin /ichael Brown was part of a
&iolent an. !s that an example of responsible reportin? *harles 2ohnson and others indicated
that /ichael Brown might ha&e a criminal record. !s that an example of unbiased co&erae?4
'+ansen" ,ale.(
issed !pportunities
! missed a few opportunities in the sense that ! ha&e yet to hear the officers perspecti&e on
the situation so !#&e become a little biased. )ll ! ha&e is what the police chief of $eruson has to
say. )lthouh" there is no possible way of supportin the lootin and riots that ha&e been
occurrin as a result which is a whole separate ball ame.
This is oin to be a fun topic. There#s so much to expand on with all sorts of
perspecti&es. @&erytime ! find a new source ! practically hit a landmine. There is no doubt this is
a social %ustice issue that is oin on riht now in our own country. By doin my own thorouh
research it completely transformed my opinions on this topic. ! think it was handled un%ustly
reardless of this youn man#s backround" and it had a whole lot to do with profilin. With that
bein said my researched did transform and has taken many different turns.
Works cited
Bosman" 2ulie" and 2oseph =oldstein. BTimeline for a Body: ; +ours in the /iddle of a
$eruson 0treet.B The New York Times. The New 9ork Times" C3 )u. CDE;. Web. 1 0ept. CDE;.
)ee" B. B$eruson Police *hief -eleases New !nfo That Turns /ichael Brown 0hootin
*ase .n !ts +ead.B Restoring Liberty. 2oe /iller" EF )u. CDE;. Web. 1 0ept. CDE;.
+ansen" ,ale. B*onser&ati&e /edia *o&erae of /ichael Brown>s ?illin !s
@mbarrassin.B The Huffington Post. The+uffintonPost.com" CG )u. CDE;. Web. 1 0ept. CDE;.
Pundit" )llah. B*NN )udio: !s This the /oment /ichael Brown Was 0hot? H +ot )ir.B
Hot Air. *NN. Web. 1 0ept. CDE;.