Kerby Anderson

At just about every protest rally across America, you will hear the words: “Hands up, don’t shoot!” These words were supposed to be the words shouted by Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri before he was killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Talk show host Larry Elder calls it “The Ferguson Lie” on a PragerU video and spends more than five minutes explaining why it is a lie. Author and columnist Michael Brown refers to it as, “The Ferguson Lie That Will Not Die.” He has an interesting angle to this topic because he shares the same name with Michael Brown. A few years ago, a colleague of his suggested he sign up for Google Alerts. That will let you know when the name “Michael Brown” appears in the news. For years, he says, at least four articles a day mention the death of Michael Brown. Most write that his last words were, “Hands up, don’t shoot!” That is not true, but the myth is perpetuated every single day and reinforced at every protest rally. Take the time to watch the PragerU video or read the article by Michael Brown. You will discover that numerous investigations (local, state, and federal) concluded that Michael Brown did not say this and also concluded that Darren Wilson did not overreact to the threat against his life. For example, the Justice Department did conclude “that the Ferguson Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14^th Amendments.” But it also concluded that the evidence did NOT support charges against the police officer that shot Michael Brown. In previous commentaries, I have attempted to debunk myths that have been spread in the political realm and even in the scientific realm. This myth deserves to die because it not only misrepresents what happened in Ferguson, Missouri but is also used to perpetuate another myth about police officers in America.