The main reason behind this drop is the Ferguson shooting and the consequent outburst of violence and protests that followed. The incident took place in Ferguson Missouri – a suburb of St. Luis. On October 9th 2014 a white police officer Darren Wilson shot dead a robbery suspect Michael Brown. Another round of unrest followed on November 24th , 2014 when the police officer was cleared of any wrongdoing.
These events sparked nationwide protests and many more cases of police shooting black suspects were covered by national media. Majority of the media supported the image of black minority being treated unfairly by white police force. However various surveys contradict these conclusions as majority of all racial groups believe the police treats the black community fairly.