Sunday's biker gang shootout in Waco, Texas—which left 9 dead, 18 injured, and over 190 arrested—and the media storm that followed have highlighted a prevalent bias both in policing and reporting on such incidents.
The incident reportedly involved five rival motorcycle gangs, which began fighting inside local Twin Peaks "breastaurant" before spilling into the parking lot. Afterwards, roughly a hundred weapons were recovered, including guns, chains, knives, bats, and clubs. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton described the aftermath as "the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in."
Amid heightened scrutiny over police brutality against people of color and the recent spotlight put on killings of unarmed, Black men, the widely-circulated photographs of Waco police peaceably rounding up the mostly-white perpetrators drew immediate comparisons to images of unarmed protesters facing down police in riot gear in other places.
#TwinPeaksShooting these two picture are a total contradiction. Is it just me? Something doesn't jibe. pic.twitter.com/8ROz4gBhX6
— Tom Vanderwall (@vanderwall_tom) May 18, 2015
Other reactions focused on the aftermath of the shootout, compared with crackdowns in largely Black communities, or made light of what they saw as an inevitable police bias.
I've been offline. Is the National Guard in Waco yet? #TwinPeaksShooting
— deray mckesson (@deray) May 18, 2015
Will there be a city wide curfew since more gang members, who ride bikes, are allegedly on the way? #TwinPeaksShooting
— ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) May 19, 2015
If #TwinPeaks had told officers there'd be a #BlackLivesMatter protest the police wouldve been there in full force. #TwinPeaksShooting #Waco
— Garrett deGraff (@Garrettdeg) May 18, 2015
The #TwinPeaksShooting, when it's all said and done, will be this guy's fault. pic.twitter.com/xvFvZjs7Ji
— Lee Crowe (@leecrowe) May 19, 2015
A writer for the blog Crooks and Liars noted Monday:
In Baltimore or Ferguson, police would have been dressed in riot gear with billy clubs after an event such as that. A curfew would have been imposed. The media would have been all over it. Fox News would trot out every conservative commentator they could to point fingers at those "thugs" who start senseless violence. We would hear about how the parents raised said thugs, and how they fritter away their welfare check on implements of thuggery.
Spurring even greater critique was the media coverage of the event, which observers noted differed widely from mainstream reporting on events involving Black people, where descriptors such as "thugs" and "riots" are often employed.
It's a shame all those gang members in the #TwinPeaksShooting grew up in single parent homes. Where are the white fathers? #BlackLivesMatter
— Crystal L. Cochren (@CrystalCochren) May 18, 2015
"9 killed in Waco biker gang shootout - where are the white leaders decrying this white-on-white violence?" #stuffthemedianeversays
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) May 18, 2015
Media coverage of killings by demographic of perpetrator: Black: Thug Muslim: Terrorist White: Biker gang #TwinPeaksShooting
— Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) May 18, 2015
Set against a growing protest movement, which is calling for reform of what activists say are inherently discriminatory systems, spanning media to mass incarceration, the violence in Waco, Texas presented an appropriate foil. As Deray McKesson, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter protest movement, noted:
If you've never understood the intersection of media bias/race and policing re: whiteness, watch the #TwinPeaksShooting unfold.
— deray mckesson (@deray) May 18, 2015
