Q1: I read some information on the web that isn't in this article!
A1: When proposing anything to be added to the article you need to cite a reliable source.
Q2: This article is biased (for / against), or (whitewashes / blames), (Brooks / the police)!
A2: See our Neutral point of view policy. Complaints of bias must be accompanied by specific concerns or suggestions for change. Vague, general statements don't help.
Q3: Why is this article calling it a killing instead of a death/murder?
A3:
  • Any time one person causes the death of another – whether intentionally or not, whether criminally or not – that's a homicide. It's a very broad category. Every murder or manslaughter (of any "degree") is a homicide, but not every homicide is a murder or manslaughter. A killing in self-defense is a homicide. Even an execution pursuant to a judicially imposed sentence of death is a homicide.
  • In most US jurisdictions the determination of whether or not a death is a homicide is made by a coroner or medical examiner, as a prerequisite to other legal proceedings. The medical examiner in Brooks's case determined that his death was, indeed, a homicide.
  • Thus Brooks's death is no longer simply a "death" but a homicide – or in common parlance, a killing. A homicide only becomes officially a murder or manslaughter after someone is convicted in court.