It's too late for Michael Brown, but not to change our approach to similar tragedies

On Aug. 9, Michael Brown—an 18-year-old black man—was shot multiple times by a member of the Ferguson, Missouri, police force.

Much as in the Trayvon Martin case and the Jordan Davis case and most other cases involving violence against black men, the details of what really happened vary depending on whom you ask. Regardless of whether you believe the Ferguson Police Department’s official stance that Michael Brown was shot because he was trying to grab the officer’s gun, it is hard to understand how the situation escalated in the first place. Like Martin, Brown was on his way back from the convenience store. He was with friends. He was unarmed.

Read more