1

Mainstream Medias Influence on the Public Perception of Police

Throughout history, instances of police brutality and misconduct have been the sources of
many protests and riots, especially when involving violent encounters or a death. This was
definitely the case with the shooting in Ferguson: many citizens demanded justice, and
condemned the officer as having brutally killed the suspect without due cause. As with any case
of police misconduct, several factors contribute to the publics opinions and reactions to the case.
A predominate factor is the media and how it may change or reinforce public perceptions of the
police.
Mainstream media plays a huge role in influencing the public opinion of the police, and
its representations may be bias or inaccurate, and as such can contribute to similar feelings
among the public; furthermore these opinions may influence police policies and the actions or
lack thereof of the police officers. There are several aspects to consider when looking at this
subject. It is important to examine the overall effect the media has on the public, its inaccuracies
and representations of police, police feeling towards the media, and any changes resulting from
the publics perception of the police. These details may show how the media can be misleading
and why it contributes so much to the way people feel towards the police. Many people have
little to no physical contact with police officers, so they form their opinions of them based on
what is often seen in the media, or related to them through a friend or acquaintance.
What the media shows regarding police misconduct, is what the vast majority of the
public see on the incident, and what they believe to be the most important facts. The facts that
they see are the basis of the general perceptions of the police. Some research, within a study
relating media coverage and the publics opinions of racial profiling, suggests that citizens will
be more likely to believe the police use excessive force and racial profiling following extensively
publicized incidents of police abuse, but that their beliefs about police responsiveness, courtesy

and effectiveness will not be greatly affected (Graziano, Schuck, and Martin 56). Through this
study the public expresses a worsening opinion of police use of force, but not necessarily of the
overall quality of the police. Other research however, suggests that support for the police
significantly declines after a widely publicized case of police misconduct, and that it may also
take years for public support to return to what it was before the incident (56). The study further
indicates that frequent exposure to media on police misconduct contributes to increased belief in
the prevalence of police misconduct such as racial profiling (57). In both these studies, media
coverage of an event of police misconduct negatively effects the way the public sees the police.
Another study, covering how the public will see individual officers, shows that the more
citizens saw news coverage of an incident of police misconduct, the more likely they were to
believe that the officer(s) involved were guilty (Chermak, Steven, Edmund and Gruenewald para.
34). Although the public may not be convinced that the police as a whole are corrupt, they begin
to believe that the officer(s) they see in a specific case on the news are guilty. This demonstrates
how the public is susceptible to believing in an officers guilt based on what is shown of the
individual accused of misconduct.
A different study, focusing on race and how it affects opinions of police, points out that
although race and experience are the most influential, continual exposure to media coverage of
police abuse is a very strong predictor of the publics opinions of misconduct (Weitzer, Ronald
and Tuch 321). It explains that the people who frequently read or hear about incidents of
misconduct, as represented in the media, are inclined to believe that misconduct is a common
occurrence in both their city and their neighborhood (321). Generally, the public shows
significant worsening opinions of certain police officers or police tactics and actions following a
widely publicized incident of misconduct, but less of a change regarding their effectiveness. The
media forms a basis for how people see the police: if the public frequently sees or hears of the

police engaging in misconduct, they may begin to see abuse by officers as natural and common.
Whether police officers do or do not frequently engage in misconduct is irrelevant, as the point is
to see how the media influences the way the public views the police.
In addition to having such influence, mainstream medias representations of misconduct
by police officers may also be inaccurate or misleading. For example, with regard to the
deployment of a Taser reports vary: half of police records report a situation in which the suspect
assaulted the officer(s), whereas national news report much less suspect violence (Ready, Justin,
White and Fisher para. 38). Another important difference is the number of suspects described as
emotionally or mentally ill. News reports this number to be higher than that of police records
(para. 39). When the media reports these incidents to involve a relatively nonviolent or mentally
ill suspect, the public may be convinced that the officers use of force was unwarranted or unjust.
These inconsistencies mostly show up when the situation involves violence or some use of a
weapon by the officer.
Consider also how the media paints the police simply in the news headlines involving
shootings: Christian Taylor: Police Shoot and Kill Unarmed College Football Player (NBC
news), Cops Shoot and Kill Alleged Gunman Who Murdered Rookie Kentucky State Trooper
(FOX news). The first headline rather than simply saying a suspect was shot by police, says that
an unarmed (generally referring to possession of a firearm) college football player was shot.
The headline however, does not include any information about if the suspect was a burglar or
other violent person. It names the officers actions, but infers that the suspects only crime is
being a college student. The second headline firstly, names the officers as cops, a somewhat
derogatory term sometimes used among officers to each other, but a highly disrespectful term
coming from the outside. Secondly, it puts in the word alleged which tends to question the
officers judgement. The officers actions are never shown to be unclear, but the suspects are; it is

never said that the officers allegedly shoot a suspect, but the suspect is an alleged gunman. In all
reality, the officer could have shot but missed the suspect; it isnt always clear whose bullet hit
the suspect. Furthermore, a suspect could have been unarmed concerning a firearm, but could
have instead had a fake gun, a skateboard or any other seemingly non-lethal object used to
threaten the officer. Even if a suspect does not possess any such object, they can still use brute
force and simply their hands to cause injury or death to other citizens or officers. If the media is
going to report that a college football player was shot, then they should also report who the
police officer is. The media is personalizing the suspect, taking an emotional appeal, and they are
impersonalizing and distancing the officer by calling him/her simply an officer or cop. The
media should consistently present the individuals involved. Regardless of what truly happened in
these incidents, the media is expressing an underlining bias toward the police.
Another similar headline expresses this same bias towards the police, but it also
demonstrates a common misconception made by the public: New York man Dies after
Chokehold by Police (CNN news). This suggests that the police officer was more or less
responsible for the death because of the chokehold. A common misconception made by the
media and the public is about the polices use of a chokehold. Police officers are trained to use
a lateral vascular neck restraint (LVNR), (not a chokehold which refers to a maneuver that
would choke, or restrain breathing), in order to control a violent or resisting suspect by shifting
their weight backward. It does not interfere with breathing, but protects the suspects airway
from injury (Huth para. 7, 9, 10); LVNR cannot choke the subject. This maneuver restrains
blood flow causing, on rare occasions, temporary unconsciousness because of continued
resistance. Any person that dies after this was done, died from a previously existing condition.
Contrary to general perceptions, the police cannot kill anyone when using this correctly.

Furthermore, in many departments police officers frequently administer this maneuver on each
other during training.
Keep in mind however, that a suspect with medical problems such as a heart condition or
asthma, may die as a result of the stressful situation, but this does not mean that the officer was
aware of this or that they treated him/her differently from any other suspect. Also keep in mind
that whether or not police officers use this depends on their department, as in some departments
it is banned. These headlines reveal how the media may intentionally or otherwise release
information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
The media does however, cover stories in which there was a true incident of police
misconduct. Some departments may express a tendency towards misconduct, such as racial
profiling (Reid 167). Although police misconduct does occur, and corruption tends to be more
prevalent in larger departments, the media paints a partial picture in emphasizing the acts of
misconduct, and presenting it as a major problem within the entire police force. Mainstream
media seems to rarely emphasize officers heroic acts or upstanding characters.
Police officers own opinions about media-police relations also helps to shed some light
on the issue. One study conducted several interviews with police officers regarding the medias
representations of the police force. Many of those interviewed expressed the desire to have the
information released by the media more regulated by the police to ensure a more fair relationship
between media and police (Huey and Broll 388). Those interviewed also mentioned that many
times the media would misquote or misrepresent them or their work, and that those
representations can attract unwarranted criticism by the media and the public (388, 389). Several
others said they felt disrespected by the media, and were shown many times as knuckledragging donut eaters (389). While some clearly showed resentment at the medias
misrepresentations, others simply regarded it as a natural part of their job: they said that no
matter what the police did, they would always be harshly criticized and others would say what

they should or should not have done; regardless of what others thought of them, they still had a
job to do as a police officer (389).
The job of a police officer is very complex, ranging from dealing with a minor domestic
dispute to violent shootings. In reality, many times the public or the media knows very little
about the police, their job and the danger, and the split second decisions that it entails; but they
are the ones adversely criticizing police officers. There are times in which this criticism is
necessary, but there are also many times that the judgments stem from misrepresentations of an
incident.
Unfortunately, changes resulting from this criticism and criminal examination of officers
actions in violent situations, either warranted or not, may not be wholly favorable. Many police
officers and departments try to limit police misconduct as much as possible by enforcing stricter
policies (such as the NYPDs restriction on chokeholds), but these stricter polices may only make
the police less able to do their jobs well. Some police officers may even avoid violent and life
threatening situations unless there is sufficient backup officers and witnesses, because of how
their decisions will be attacked by the media and public. Many officers however, will still uphold
the law the best they can despite how much of the media and public criticize and antagonize
them.
Law enforcement misconduct in their tactics and policies is an important topic in society,
and continues to be the cause of much of the outrage and protests among the media and the
public. How the media shows the police largely contributes to how the public sees the police, and
how they may react to incidents of supposed police misconduct. Mainstream medias
representations of the police can include incomplete, misleading or bias information, and as such
it may lead to similar opinions and perceptions among the public. The publics feelings towards
the prevalence of police misconduct and the shapes it is most likely to take, ultimately influences
the actions or lack thereof of police departments and officers. Although this generally may be

seen as a good thing, as it intends to hold officers accountable for their actions, it may have more
negative consequences. Many officers misconduct is only see as such because of
misconceptions or a lack of knowledge about the incident or the police in general. Granted, little
can be done to ensure that the media will always show the facts without any agenda or bias, but
the public could attempt to be more informed before forming an opinion, and to form those
opinions based off of facts rather than the way in which the media shows those facts.

Annotated Bibliography
Associated Press. Christian Taylor: Police shoot and kill unarmed college football player.
NBC News. Aug. 8 2015. Web. Nov. 4 2015. The title of this article was used to
demonstrate how the media portrays the police in shootings.
Bloom, Deborah, and Jareen Imam. New York Man Dies after Chokehold by Police. CNN
News. Dec. 8 2014. Web. Nov. 4 2015. The title of this article was used to demonstrate
how the media inaccurately presents the polices use of the chokehold.
Chermak, Steven, McGarrel Edmund, and Gruenewald Jeff. Media Coverage of Police
Misconduct and Attitudes Toward Police. Policing 29.2 (2006): 261-281. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. This article studies the public opinion of police
officers before and after a celebrated event of police misconduct on the media. The
findings of the study showed that news consumption of the celebrated event had no
significant effect on the publics general opinions about police, but that it did however
greatly affect the publics belief in the guilt of the officers involved.
This source offers a different angle on the topic, and also gives a little more
detailed study into the specifics of the issue (Publics opinion towards individuals guilt,

rather than the opinion towards the general department). This source also was peerreviewed and offered a reference page to other similar sources.
Fox News. Cops Shoot and Kill alleged Gunman Who Murdered Rookie Kentucky State
Trooper. Fox News. Sep. 14 2015. Web. Nov. 4 2015. The title of this article was used to
show how the media disrespectfully speaks about the police.
Grazian, Lisa, Amis Schuck, and Christine Martin. Police Misconduct, Media Coverage, and
Public Perceptions of Racial Profiling: An Experiment. JQ: Justice Quarterly 27.1
(2010): 52-76. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. This article examines the
impact of an incident of racial profiling on the publics opinion of profiling, and the
effects of being exposed to video clips on the incident. The findings of the study
indicated that beliefs about the prevalence of racial profiling were susceptible to the
medias construction of the incident, but beliefs about the causes of racial profiling are
less so. It also stresses the importance of how the media constructs incidents of police
misconduct in understanding shifts in public opinion.
This source focuses on the medias portrayal of events and how they affect the
public. This provides evidence in the exact area which I am mostly looking into. The
source also provides reference pages that can help with further research and which
document where information was gathered.
Huth, Charles. Why the LNVR isnt a chokehold. PoliceOne.com. Mar.19 2013. Web. Nov. 5
2015. This source shows how and why officers use a lateral vascular neck restraint. It
also explains the differences between LNVR and a chokehold.
Huey, Laura, and Ryan Broll. All it Takes is One TV Show to Ruin it: A Police Perspective on
Police-Media Relations in the Era of Expanding Prime Time Crime Markets. Policing &
Society 22.4 (2012): 384-396. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. This
article looks at interviews with the police on the relations between police and the media.

Those interviewed felt that they had lost all control over how the media portrayed their
work in news stories. The interviews conducted contradicted the original belief that the
police were the dominant partner, and that they could dictate what the media publishes.
This article offers more unique information as it is from the officers viewpoint, and it
focuses on how the police can and cannot control how and what the media may publish
concerning their work. This article also has been peer-reviewed and has reference pages. I
will use this source to point out another slightly different angle to the problem: the media
running away with a good news story even if it is inaccurate.
Ready, Justin, Michael White, and Christopher Fisher. Shock Value: A Comparative Analysis of
News Reports and Official Police Records on TASER Deployments. Policing 31.1
(2008): 148-170. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. This article compares
and analyzes news reports and official police reports regarding the deployment of a
TASER. It examines the circumstances in which a TASER is used, the characteristics of
suspects involved and predictors of continued suspect resistance, and multiple use of
TASER by the officer. Through this analysis the article touches on how often the news
medias portrayal of crime and criminal justice is inaccurate. This source offers evidence
that shows differences between police reports, and what the media shows to the public
and in turn how the public may be effected by inaccurate news. This source also has
reference pages, and has been peer-reviewed. I can use this source to show how the media
many times shows inaccurate news, especially regarding supposed police misconduct.
Reid, Kiron. Race Issues and Stop and Search: Looking Behind the Statistics. Journal of
Criminal Law 73.2 (2009): 165-183. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
This source provides research showing how many departments, as a whole, may use
racial profiling; demonstrating that the police are not exempt from corruption.

10

Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct. Social
Problems 51.3 (2004): 305-25. PoQuest. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. This article examines all the
factors that contribute to the public perception of the police misconduct. The findings
suggest that race and personal experience are the factors that have the most influence on
public opinion. It also shows the large importance of mass media and how it shapes
citizens beliefs about the frequency of police abuse. This article has also been peerreviewed and offers a reference page for further study. This article makes a good point:
that although media is generally not the primary factor in shaping the publics opinion, it
plays a huge role. This article provides further evidence on the influence of the media,
and provides a different angle that race provides the basis for most of the publics
opinion, and the media works to reinforce those beliefs or contradict them.