Talk:List of police violence incidents during George Floyd protests

This article was nominated for deletion on 21 April 2021. The result of the discussion was keep.

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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Does it have to say "white" police officer?

A1: Yes, because almost all reliable sources emphasize the significance of this fact.

Q2: I read some information on the web that isn't in this article!

A2: When proposing anything to be added to the article you need to cite a reliable source; secondary sources are generally preferred over primary.

Q3: This article is biased (for/against), or (whitewashes/blames), (Floyd/police)!

A3: See our neutral point of view policy. Complaints of bias must be accompanied by specific concerns or suggestions for change. Vague, general statements don't help.

Q4: Why is this article calling it a murder instead of a death/killing?

A4: As a person was formally convicted for murder in a court of law, the article uses the term "murder", in line with the community guidance at WP:MURDERS.

Q5: Wasn't Floyd killed near a store called Cub Foods, not Cup Foods?

A5: The store is Cup Foods, and is not affiliated with the Cub Foods store chain.

Q6: Why does the article use such a graphic photo? Isn't it in poor taste?

A6: The lead image was determined by the community in a formal Request for Comment process. The RfC reached an "overwhelming consensus" that "...the image, despite it being traumatizing, should be kept per WP:NOTCENSORED, as it is an appropriate representation of the topic."

Q7: Why was my request or comment removed?

A7: Because of the frequency of meritless and disruptive requests, any further requests to describe Floyd's murder using other terms (e.g. "death", "overdose") or to change the name of the article accordingly will be removed without consideration, unless the request complies with all relevant Wikipedia guidelines and essays, including WP:Requested moves, WP:Common name, WP:Article titles, WP:Naming conventions (violence and deaths), and WP:Reliable sources. Anyone removing such requests should include a link to this FAQ in their edit summary.

Q8: Why do we not call the protests riots?

A8: Because most reliable sources call them protests, not riots.

Q9: Did he not die of a drug overdose?

A9: No, whilst fentanyl was a contributory factor, his death certificate lists his cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression".

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Query

@Feoffer: As page creator, @Leaky.Solar: as possibly interested editor, just querying about this article.

IMHO police work, unfortunately, can be inherently violent by its nature. To arrest a person who does not want to be arrested requires a level of violence. For example, if someone has committed a murder, the penalties are severe, up to execution. They are therefore likely to resist violently. Police have to respond with 'appropriate' force, hopefully in a lawful manner.

Some of the instances on this page could well be 'normal' police interactions. Any legal, necessary interaction with the general public, or arrest of a suspect, can end up in 'violence'.

It's a rather subjective issue. Perhaps a set of criteria need to be set for inclusion?

Include

Doucette No. 2, where an officer has been charged is a good example of what should be included.
№ 282, Buffalo police shoving incident, too

Or not

№ 136, Trump's church 'visit'
№ 369, 'alleged' spitting?
№ 311, arrest only?
May 31, "spraying a chemical on protestors"?

* I am not a police officer or related to any police. 220 of ^Borg 10:33, 11 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The distinction you make is a valid one, the first two incidents you list are different from the others. What you're describing would likely be called List of police brutality incidents during George Floyd protests. This article documents the wider trend of controversial police violence during national protests against police brutality, as documented by reliable sources. Feoffer (talk) 19:44, 11 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Trump's 'photo-op' should definitely be included, the level of violence was unnecessary and inappropriate to the situation, many officials and RS have stated so. Persistent Corvid (talk) 00:18, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that not all of the Doucette numbers should be included here. Some are not strictly instances of police violence. Though I would argue that some uses of chemical agents and tear gas can be considered violence. I think we have to rely on sources to help us determine which instances are excessive uses of force. gobonobo ⁺ ^c 09:05, 17 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Why is Killing of Rayshard Brooks listed here? A lot of these incidents are just police performing their job. Arresting protestors,using tear gas to disperse a crowd is not considered police violence. A lot of incidents are based on contextless tweets. We as Wikipedia editors should do better.

Update on #48

This officer has been suspended: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-nypd-officers-suspended-after-videos-violence-protesters-n1225771.--Einar Moses Wohltun (talk) 15:11, 11 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Police slashing car tires

Is this an act of police violence? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/george-floyd-protests-cops-slash-tires-video-police-minneapolis-k-mart-parking-lot-a9557011.html --Einar Moses Wohltun (talk) 15:16, 11 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Done Thank for the reference! It was identified as Doucette #387. Keep 'em coming! Feoffer (talk) 20:09, 11 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Table formatting?

I prefer if table cells are aligned top left for readability. Any concerns or objections? Phil Wolff (talk) 05:42, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Works for me! Feoffer (talk) 06:01, 15 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Category:Filmed police brutality

The list lead mentions video evidence of alleged police brutality; please help populated Category:Filmed police brutality. Thanks. fgnievinski (talk) 19:07, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Normal police response classified as police violence

For example look at #5: "80 arrested as police clashed with protesters on the Vegas strip." How is that example of police violence? Another example #27: "Police fire gas and non-lethal projectiles at protesters." How is police performing normal riot duty considered as violence.There are other examples too. Hate to say but this article is not neutral.

"Police fire gas and non-lethal projectiles at protestors" -- this is very clearly violence, and there is no such thing as "normal riot duty" because riots aren't normal. 2A01:4C8:1050:ACE9:C4D1:7951:3741:A28D (talk) 13:01, 24 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sorting

How exactly is the table supposed to be sorted? It's not by date, nor by location. Could this table be reformatted to be sorted in some way? TheAmazingRaspberry (talk) 22:09, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

It was organized by the number assigned by Doucette & Miller, who cataloged and disambiguated incidents. It was a useful tool for editors, but it was correctly pointed out that our readers probably don't need to see those numbers. They've since been re-sorted by date. Feoffer (talk) 22:12, 21 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Scope

The "de facto" scope of the article, as originally created, was the subset of the Doucette & Miller 830 incidents which could be independently verified in reliable sources. This definition had the advantage of being objective, well-defined, finite. Feoffer (talk) 00:04, 22 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]