Here's Why We Must Stop Trying Police Use-of-Force Cases on Social Media

By Mathew Silverman, National President, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association 

The recent deadly shooting in Minneapolis is a tragedy. A woman lost her life. A law enforcement officer will live forever with the consequences of a split-second decision. Two families are now forever changed.

And once again, before the facts are fully known, before investigators have finished their work, before evidence has been carefully reviewed, the internet has already declared a verdict.

This has become a dangerous pattern in America.

In the hours after this incident, I was contacted by numerous media outlets asking the same question: Was this a lawful shooting, or was it a violation of policy? The honest and responsible answer is this: we do not yet know. And neither does anyone else watching short video clips on their phones.

Police use-of-force decisions are among the most complex, high-risk, and compressed decision-making events in modern society. They are made in seconds, under extreme stress, with incomplete information, and often in life-or-death circumstances. Trying these cases in the court of social media, based on a single camera angle and raw emotion, does not serve justice, public safety, or the truth.

One of the most uncomfortable realities in policing is also one of the most important: if a law enforcement officer gives you a lawful command, the safest course of action is to comply. That does not mean citizens give up their rights. Quite the opposite. Our system provides mechanisms for complaints, investigations, and civil lawsuits if officers act improperly. But refusing to comply in the moment, especially during a rapidly evolving encounter, dramatically increases the risk to everyone involved.

Based on what is publicly visible so far, this encounter escalated when a vehicle was driven across lanes of traffic in a way that impeded law enforcement operations. At that point, officers had to make immediate threat assessments. Is this person trying to flee? Is this vehicle being used as a weapon? Is there an imminent threat to officers or the public?

These are not hypothetical concerns. Law enforcement across the country has seen vehicles used as weapons and coordinated ambush tactics used against officers. Officers do not have the luxury of assuming best intentions in the middle of an unfolding crisis.

In this case, commands were given and not followed. Video appears to show the vehicle’s wheels spinning as the driver applied the accelerator. In that instant, an officer had to decide whether this vehicle posed an imminent threat. That decision window is measured in fractions of a second, not in the minutes or hours available to commentators watching from a distance.

Whether that decision was correct, justified, or within policy is exactly what the investigation must determine. That process exists for a reason.

What troubles me deeply is how quickly social media turned this into a digital manhunt. The involved agent’s image is being circulated alongside hostile and inflammatory rhetoric. This is reckless. It puts lives at risk. It undermines due process. And it makes thoughtful, fact-based accountability harder, not easier.
We can hold two truths at the same time. We can mourn the loss of life and grieve for a family that is suffering. And we can also recognize that the officer involved is a human being who was forced to make a calculated decision in an impossible moment a decision he will carry for the rest of his life.

Despite what some believe, police officers do not wake up hoping to use deadly force. The psychological and emotional toll of taking a life is profound and permanent. In today’s world, that burden is compounded by instant online judgment, threats, and public vilification before investigations even begin.
Our country is more divided than I have seen in my lifetime. We have already watched misinformation and emotional outrage ignite unrest before. We should not repeat that mistake.

If wrongdoing occurred, it must be addressed through a full, fair, and transparent investigation. If policy was violated, accountability must follow. That is how a nation of laws works.

But we must stop pretending that viral videos are trials, that comment sections are courts, and that outrage is evidence.

This was a tragic incident with irreversible consequences. While perspectives may differ as to whether the actions were justified, personal opinions are not the standard by which such matters are judged. The facts are.

We owe the truth to the family who lost a loved one. We owe fairness to the officer involved. And we owe our country a system that values justice over instant judgment.