Perceptions of Race and the Police in the Eric Garner Case. Maria Elisa Ayala Ted Gournelos Mass, Media, & Society

BACKGROUND Reality of the Police and the Juridical System:  Racial Profiling  Enforcement  Conviction & sentencing

Literature Review Perceptions of Race in the U.S Class/ Hegemony: (Weitzer 1999)(Omi 2014) “Color Blind”: (Omi 2014) Media: (Chaney 2013) Perceptions of Police Police Brutality: (Tuch 1997)(Chermak 2006) Bias: (Weitzer 1999) (Chaney 2013) Media: ( Chermak 2006) (Brown 2002)

CNN Newsroom WhiteHispanicBlacks Panel 1 Host of the program Director of the congressional Black Caucus founder of yourblackworld.com Contributor of CNN Panel 2 Political director of Russell Simmons Cultural critic President of the Black Conservative Coalition Panel 3 Host of the ProgramLegal analystsCNN contributor  In depth Interviews: Gianna Hernandez - Campus Safety Coodinator Stephanie Briganty -Community Standards Coordinator Paola Berrocal - International College Student Sean Hips - National College Student Methods  Textual Analysis

Textual Analysis The majority of the participants consider that there was police brutality involved in the Eric Garner case, due to this they have a negative view of law enforcement. The majority of the participants consider that there was police brutality involved in the Eric Garner case, due to this they have a negative view of law enforcement. The non-White participants agreed that he was targeted base on his size, race, and background. (Negrophobia) The non-White participants agreed that he was targeted base on his size, race, and background. (Negrophobia) The White participants questioned the debate itself, they tried to excuse the police officer. The White participants questioned the debate itself, they tried to excuse the police officer.

In-depth Interviews Participants consider race a current issue, but society pretends that people do not have racial prejudices. Participants consider race a current issue, but society pretends that people do not have racial prejudices. The participants believe this case has affected other security companies as well, and has resulted in a lack of trust overall regarding law enforcement. The participants believe this case has affected other security companies as well, and has resulted in a lack of trust overall regarding law enforcement. The majority of the participants believe that media exaggerates the story. The majority of the participants believe that media exaggerates the story.

Implications  Media create such a scandal because they were trying to maintain a conversation.  Media portrayed both sides of the story, without making any specific points about what was right and what was wrong.  Eric Garner was a case study to show the lack of trust from minority communities and how non-White citizens consider police officers are doing a poor job.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Ben, and Reed Benedict “Perceptions of the police” Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 25, (3): Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray V. Robertson “Racism and Police Brutality in America.” Journal of African American Studies 17, (4) : Chermak, Steven, Edmund McGarrell, and Jeff Gruenewald “Media coverage of police misconduct and attitudes toward police.” Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 29, (2): Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. “Racial formation in the United States.” Routledge, Tuch, Steven A., and Ronald Weitzer "Trends: Racial differences in attitudes toward the police." Public Opinion Quarterly 61, (4): Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch “Race, class, and perceptions of discrimination by the police.” Crime & Delinquency 45, (4):

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