definition for: #stopescalating

This hashtag is used to identify examples of police brutality used to punish citizens unlawfully and without legal representation, usually ending in execution by officers. These murders are popularly referred to as "police involved shooting", but they've formerly been known as "suicide by cop". Examples include the murder of Freddie Gray, Sandra Bond, Miriam Carrey, Alton Sterling, and Kelly Thomas, as well as hundreds more. While the president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, Chuck Canterbury, says the police can not de-escalate or they'd lose control, police must stop escalating encounters with citizens into acts of outright murder.