On this week’s episode of Scandal, art imitated life as Olivia Pope and her team found themselves in the middle of Rosemead—just blocks away from the White House, where an African-American teenager named Brandon Parker was gunned down by a police officer. The storyline closely mirrored the real life murder of Ferguson, Mo. teen Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in August 2014.
Here are five striking similarities between last night’s Scandal episode and the events in Ferguson.
1. Brandon was left lying face down in the street.
Scandal included the teen’s father, Clarence – played by Courtney B. Vance – toting a shot-gun at the site where his son was gunned down. The grieving father ultimately sets a chair over his son and sits down, waiting to find out which cop is responsible for his death.
One of the key and most heart-wrenching details in Michael Brown’s shooting was the fact that law enforcement allowed his body to remain lying in the street where he was shot for more than four hours.
2. The police officer who shot Brandon said he feared for his life.
Olivia Pope questions Officer Newton, the DCPD officer who shot Brandon Parker, to try to better understand what led to the fatal encounter. Officer Newton details how he responded to a cell phone robbery, and was told the suspect was an African-American male, medium build, around 20 years old. He said that when he approached Brandon he noticed a brand new cell phone, still in its box, in his hand. He said Brandon became hostile and “reached for a knife” and that’s when he shot him – because he feared for his own safety. Olivia finds a pocket knife under Brandon’s body, but it is later revealed the knife was planted there and Brandon was actually reaching for his receipt to prove he had paid for the cell phone.
Read more of this story at http://newsone.com/3096004/scandal-ferguson-episode-shonda-rhimes/
