--- title: Minnesota Shooting: Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse description: The news of two police-involved killings of black men has circulated the media: Alton Sterling's and Philando Castile's deaths canonical: https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/ author: Beverly Gooden article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-07T18:27:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:23.057Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Horrific Similarity Between Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse og:description: Police violence in black communities is state-sanctioned domestic violence og:url: https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93a63960f36a484c/69889b0ff887dc8630e968cc/police-violence-domestic-abuse.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Man shot dead by police during traffic stop in Minnesota og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Horrific Similarity Between Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse twitter:description: Police violence in black communities is state-sanctioned domestic violence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93a63960f36a484c/69889b0ff887dc8630e968cc/police-violence-domestic-abuse.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Horrific Similarity Between Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=46dbc33a-b3e1-45a3-9ddd-f149a2c47931&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Black Man Fatally Shot by Police in Minnesota [Watch (HLS stream): Black Man Fatally Shot by Police in Minnesota](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S4Y1VgdH.m3u8) (3:39)  _Published 2016-07-07. A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video._ by [Beverly Gooden](https://time.com/author/beverly-gooden/) ## Beverly Gooden Jul 7, 2016 6:27 PM UTC  Brian Herron, pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Minneapolis, turns from the podium to address Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton as he speaks about the police shooting of Philando Castile during a news conference in front of the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., on July 7, 2016 Brian Herron, pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Minneapolis, turns from the podium to address Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton as he speaks about the police shooting of Philando Castile during a news conference in front of the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., on July 7, 2016 Craig Lassig—EPA by [Beverly Gooden](https://time.com/author/beverly-gooden/) ## Beverly Gooden Jul 7, 2016 6:27 PM UTC In the short span of 48 hours, the news of two police-involved killings of black men has circulated the media: [Alton Sterling](http://time.com/4395459/alton-sterling-baton-rouge-police-shooting/)’s and [Philando Castile](http://time.com/4396256/minnesota-shooting-philando-castile-what-know/)’s deaths took over our news cycles and our social-media feeds. It’s gut-wrenching. As a human being, it breaks my heart. As a black woman, it infuriates me. But I’m also a domestic-violence survivor who, like many others, lived with a spouse that systematically filled my life with violence and blame. And I can’t help but notice how police violence mirrors abuser dynamics. The core desire of an abuser is control. If the abuser feels they don’t have control, they’ll enforce violence to gain that control. The abuser will use intimidation, coercion, isolation and ultimately physical violence in order to be in control. And here’s the kicker: the abuser will _always_ minimize or deny their behavior by blaming it on the victim. Sound familiar? “They were resisting” is a common refrain in police violence. Then, victims will be very careful not to incite violence by walking on eggshells. “Yes, officer,” they’ll say. “No, sir officer, you’re right,” they’ll declare. Take for instance the story of [Levar Jones](http://www.today.com/news/levar-jones-video-cop-shooting-me-disturbing-1D80239682), who, after being shot by a police officer, respectfully called the officer “sir” and even apologized to the man that shot him. Why would he do that? It is safe to assume that the victim was attempting to de-escalate the situation by calming the aggressor. That mirrors domestic violence in a way that is both frightening and enlightening. But, as in domestic violence, the victim’s behavior will never change the outcome once the abuser believes he can use physical violence without consequence. In America, police violence without consequence in black communities has become so normalized that we roll our eyes when “justice” is sought by authorities. Further, the stories of police officers who have walked free after killing an unarmed black person are legion. I don’t even expect an officer to suffer consequences anymore; the audacity of hope I once had is gone. But look at this. In order to keep the victim quiet, the abuser will often make promises of peace. “The Justice Department is investigating!” and “The officers are on leave!” And so the victim is relieved and placated. “Thank God. It’s over. There is peace and we’ll get through this.” That’s called “the honeymoon period,” but that period never lasts. Because without real intervention, abuser violence escalates in severity and frequency. And quite often, the relationship ends when the victim eliminates/neutralizes the abuser. I didn’t eliminate my abuser; I escaped my abuser. But how do you escape an abuser who is state-sanctioned? Police violence in black communities is state-sanctioned domestic violence. Nothing less. ## Transcript Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back and the police just, he's covered. He killed my boyfriend. He's licensed, he's carry, he's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his Pocket. And he let the officer know that he was, he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm. We're wait for back- Keep your hands on the wheel. I will, sir. No worries, I will. ****!. He just shot his arm off. we got pulled over on Larpener. I told that [ UNKNOWN ]. I told get his hand open he had, you told him to get his ID sir, his drivers licence. My god, Please don't tell me he is dead, please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that Keep your hands where they are, please yes i will sir, i keep my hands where they are. Please don't tell me this Lord, please Jesus don't tell me that he's gone. Please don't tell me that he's gone. Please officer don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him sir. He was just getting his license and registration sir. We've got [ INAUDIBLE ]. Get the female passenger out. Ma'am, exit the car right now, with your hands up. Let me see your hands. Exit now. Keep them up. Keep them up. Where's my daughter? You got my daughter? Face away from me and walk backwards. Walk backwards towards me. Just keep walking. Walk backwards, keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. [ NOISE ] Ma'am, you are just being detained right now until we get this all sorted out okay? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I'm in the back seat of the police, hand, car, in the back seat of the police car hand cuffed. I need a ride. I'm on Larpenteur and Fry. They got machine guns pointed. Don't be scared. My daughter just witnessed this. The police just shot him for no apparent reason. No reason at all. They asked for license and registration. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] That's the police officer over there that did it, with the black on. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I can't really do ****, cuz they got me handcuffed. It's okay mommy. I can't believe they've did this. They're so ****. ****. Aah! It's okay. I'm right here with you. [ SOUND ] You're going to roll over. [ CROSSTALK } Please Lord. Y'all please pray for us, Jesus please y'all. Y'all ask everybody on Facebook, everybody that's watching, everybody that's tuned in, please pray for us. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/"},"headline":"The Horrific Similarity Between Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse","datePublished":"2016-07-07T18:27:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:23.057Z","description":"Police violence in black communities is state-sanctioned domestic violence","url":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/","keywords":["Crime","police","violence"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93a63960f36a484c/69889b0ff887dc8630e968cc/police-violence-domestic-abuse.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Beverly Gooden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/beverly-gooden/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93a63960f36a484c/69889b0ff887dc8630e968cc/police-violence-domestic-abuse.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Man shot dead by police during traffic stop in Minnesota","caption":"Brian Herron, Pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Minneapolis, turns from the podium to address Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton as he speaks about the police shooting of Philando Castile, during a news conference in front of the governors residence in St. Pa","creditText":"Craig Lassig—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/","name":"The Horrific Similarity Between Police Brutality and Domestic Abuse"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Black Man Fatally Shot by Police in Minnesota","description":"A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/S4Y1VgdH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-07-07T12:32:36.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S4Y1VgdH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/","duration":"PT3M39S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4397050/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```