Late last week the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation released the findings of its investigation into the shooting death of Allan Locke on December 20, 2014, in the Lakota Homes neighborhood of Rapid City, South Dakota. The shooting occurred the day after Locke attended a protest against unnecessary police shootings.

The investigation cleared Rapid City Police Officer Tony Meirose, and shortly after, the non-Native media in South Dakota reported the results of the investigation without critical inquiry, as they have done for years and years, in incidents involving altercations between law enforcement and Native people. The reporting received praise, likes, and shares on the Facebook pages of local print and television media outlets along with blatantly racist comments from page visitors about Native people.

Although the independent Native media reported an alternative account of what took place that night, the Native community in Rapid City was once again left out of the conversation. Local journalists failed to dig beyond the public statements made by city officials who did everything in their power to show support for the RCPD, even without a proper investigation having been completed.

While the South Dakota media served as a propaganda machine for the city and its police department, Native people were busy doing their own research unveiling relevant facts surrounding the incident including posts from the officer involved. The posts depict a culture of bigotry and brutality within the RCPD against the poor and minority communities in the city.