The very concept of a “justified” killing — in police terminology, a “good shoot” — betrays the paradox inherent in police communications: A police department exists to protect the public and to protect itself, but can it ever really do both? In relaying information about a crime in which an officer may have been at fault, brand management becomes a priority. Victims — who more often than not are black — have long listened to police with skepticism, expecting misinformation about themselves and their communities. Journalists have struggled to tell the whole story.
