User:Hexatekin/sandbox/2014 police brutality protests in the United States

A series of incidents of police brutality against black men in the United States sparked protests across the country in August 2014.

Backround
Police brutality protests in the United States date back to the civil rights era of the 1950s and 60s. In 1991, Rodney King was severely beaten by five police officers which led to the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Twenty years later in February 2012, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager from Sanford, Florida, was fatally shot during an altercation with a white vigilante. During trial the shooter, George Zimmerman a neighborhood watch coordinator was found not guilty and acquitted on all charges. The verdict resulted in mass protests calling for Zimmerman's arrest students walked out in various high schools in Florida and hoodies were used in the protests as Trayvon was killed whilst wearing one. The result also opened up questions of racism Zimmerman was accused of being motivated by racism while others such as defense attorney Don West stated Martin had introduced race into the confrontation. There were allegations of racial bias against the Sanford Police.

History
Protests first broke out in response to shooting of Michael brown on August 10, 2014.