The College Perspective by Lindsey

Early this morning, Wednesday, November 2, two Des Moines police officers were shot in what is being called an “ambush” style. The man who is suspected of shooting them, Scott Greene, was escorted out of a football game seen in a video posted online two days earlier when he was allegedly causing a public disturbance. Greene claims he was peacefully protesting when the African Americans sitting behind him stole his confederate flag and he just wanted it back. Greene wanted to file charges against those that took his flag, but the video cuts out at this point, returning to focus on a police officer telling him if he didn’t like that conduct, he should take it up with the police department. He was found walking soon after the incident, and he went in for questioning without argument.

Officers responded to reports of gunfire when they found the first shot officer, and another dead officer was found soon after. They don’t suspect there was any interaction between the shooter and the officers. The police officers in Des Moines are worried as there have been an increase in the number of police officer shootings over the past year, and this is the first case of Des Moines officers shot and killed in the line of duty since 1977.

I believe this story is very newsworthy, as with the Black Lives Matter movement, and tensions in bigger cities between minorities and officers especially, police officers have been more concerned for their own safety. While the man who is a suspect isn’t a minority, he was disgruntled and brings to light just how dangerous of a job this is, and how police officers have to take more precautions than ever before. Also, for a story based in Iowa to reach the New York Times, it has to be a big deal.

The audience seems to be all Americans, but is especially relevant for Iowans who are dealing with this firsthand. The lead is very straightforward and includes all the necessary information even if it is a little longer than usual. As this story is still relatively new and details are still coming out, the story was factual and to the point, there didn’t seem to be a point of view. There are probably some facts missing but they will probably surface as the case has more time to develop.

The link to the original article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/us/police-iowa-ambush-killed.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0