Yesterday Duante Wright was shot and killed by police. I keep seeing it mentioned that he had a warrant out.

1. A warrant is not an excuse for deadly force
2. We should all pay attention to how many headlines, tweets, & ledes mention the warrant w/out saying what it was for

I understand that journalists might not have had all the information yesterday. But they should have it today. The repeated mention of "a warrant"--w/out clarification--subtly re-enforces the idea that Mr. Wright was dangerous.

Few people are free from this immediate cognitive assumption. You hear "warrant" and you assume the cops must have felt in danger. This *still* would not justify deadly force, but it changes how we see the event and can have *sticky* effects even as we learn more details.

It changes our perception of Mr Wright & sets up biases regarding both him as a victim and the cops' behavior/motivations in the situation. We should try to combat this wherever we see it, so that the effects are not long-lasting.