"Hands up, don't shoot", sometimes shortened to "hands up", is a slogan and gesture that originated after the August 9, 2014, shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, United States. The slogan implies one has their hands in the air, a common sign of submission, and is therefore not a threat to an approaching police officer. Witness reports from the Brown shooting are conflicted as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot. Most witnesses claimed he physically charged at the officer. One witness initially claimed Brown had his hands in the air before recanting his account. Despite the ambiguity of Brown's hand positions during shooting, the slogan was adopted at protests against police brutality in the U.S. A United States Department of Justice investigation found the