-
Amadou Diallo (23)
A 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, was shot and killed by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed officers—Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss—after they mistook him for a rape suspect from one year earlier. The officers fired a combined total of 41 shots, 19 of which struck Diallo, outside his apartment.
All four officers were charged with second-degree murder and acquitted at trial in Albany, New York -
Sean Bell (23)
Three men were shot a total of 50 times by a team of both plainclothes and undercover NYPD officers. Sean Bell was killed on the morning before his wedding, and two of his friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, were severely wounded. Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trial[3] on charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and second-degree reckless endangerment; they were found not guilty. -
Oscar Grant III (22)
An African-American man who was fatally shot in the early morning by BART Police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, CA. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, Police officers detained Grant and several other passengers on the platform. Officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer had restrained Grant, forcing him to lie face down. Mehserle shot Grant in the back.
Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. -
Kenneth Chamberlain (68)
Chamberlain Sr. was fatally shot in White Plains, New York. After his LifeAid medical alert necklace was inadvertently triggered, police came to his home and demanded that he open his door. Despite his objections and statements that he did not need help, the police broke down Chamberlain's door, tasered him, and then shot him. Chamberlain was 68, a retired Marine, and a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections. -
Ramarley Graham (18)
Richard Haste, a New York Police Department officer, shot Graham in the bathroom of Graham's apartment. The officer had been informed that Graham had a gun and believed that Graham had been reaching for a gun in his waistband after disregarding police orders and shouting expletives at police. Haste was charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dropped. -
Kendrec McDade (19)
McDade was shot at point-blank range by one Pasadena police officer, struck by a total of seven bullets, then handcuffed, according to an autopsy report released by the L.A. County Coroner's Office. The autopsy report says three of the seven wounds, two to McDade's abdomen and one to his right arm, were fatal.
The officers involved were only suspended and placed on administrative leave for a short period of time. They have since returned to work. -
Ervin Jefferson (18)
The Atlanta teen was shot and killed in March 2012 by two security guards responding to an altercation outside of the boy’s home. Ervin was attempting to protect his sister when he ran outside their home on Pleasantwood Drive toward a crowd of people who had driven up in at least two cars. Instead, he was shot dead.
The security guards in question were not arrested -
Amos G. Smith (26)
Smith was pulled over by officers and attempted to flee, police say. Police shot and killed him after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers -
Kimani Gray (16)
Kimani Gray was shot dead by two plainclothes police officers not far from his home in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. The circumstances of the shooting are still in dispute: police claim that the young man pointed a .38 caliber revolver at them (though concede he fired no shots), while at least one witness has claimed that Gray was not armed at all. What is known is that the officers fired 11 shots in total, three of which hit the teenager in the back and killed him. -
Andy Lopez (13)
Lopez was walking through a vacant lot and carrying an airsoft gun that was designed to resemble an AK-47 assault rifle. Sherif's Deputy Gelhaus opened fire on Lopez, presumably mistaking the airsoft gun for a real firearm.
No charges would be filed against Gelhaus. On July 1, 2015, the FBI announced no criminal charges would be filed against Gelhaus, due to lack of evidence to prove that he violated Lopez's civil rights. -
Eric Garner (43)
NYPD officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. After he told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers went to arrest him. A NYPD officer put him in a chokehold while arresting him. After he removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed Garner's face into the ground while four officers restrained Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying facedown on the sidewalk. -
John Crawford (22)
Crawford picked up an un-packaged BB/pellet air rifle inside the store's sporting goods section and continued shopping in the store. Another customer, Ronald Ritchie, called 911. According to Ritchie “At no point did he shoulder the rifle and point it at somebody”, while maintaining that Crawford was "waving it around". Two officers of the Beavercreek Police arrived at the Walmart shortly after they were told a "subject with a gun" in the pet supplies area of the store and Crawford was shot. -
Michael Brown (18)
Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer after he was accused of robbing a store. Brown was accompanied by his friend Dorian Johnson at the time. The officer alleged that an altercation ensued when Brown attacked Wilson in his police vehicle for control of Wilson's gun until it was fired. Brown and Johnson then fled. In the entire altercation, the officer fired 12 bullets. People said his hands were up in surrender when he was shot, protesters chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot." -
Laquan McDonald (17)
McDonald walked away from police after verbal instructions from officers to drop the knife, at which point responding officers requested Taser backup. Video shows that Van Dyke was advancing on McDonald, while he was walking away when the first shot was fired. The first shot hit McDonald, who spun and fell to the ground. As McDonald lay on the ground, Van Dyke fired more. In total, Van Dyke shot him 16 times. The first responding officer said that he did not see the need to use force. -
Tamir Rice (12)
Officers responded to call of a black male that "keeps pulling a gun out of his pants and pointing it at people". A caller said that a male was pointing "a pistol" at random people in the park. At the beginning and middle of the call he says "it's probably fake". Toward the end of the two-minute call, the caller stated "he is probably a juvenile". The officers said that they both yelled "show me your hands" through the open car window. The officer shot twice, hitting Rice once in the torso. -
Freddie Gray (25)
Gray was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade under Baltimore law. While being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma. Gray died and his death was ascribed to injuries to his spinal cord. The medical investigation found that Gray had sustained the injuries while in transport. The ME's office concluded that Gray's death was no an accident, and a homicide, because officers failed to follow safety procedures. -
Jamar Clark (24)
Police say that Clark got into a confrontation with paramedics and then when police arrived a "struggle" ensued. Police said that Clark was actively resisting arrest and tried to take the weapon of one of the officers, and that he was not handcuffed at the moment of the shooting.Other accounts have disputed with the police's version of events. Nekelia Sharp said that the shooting occurred while Clark was handcuffed and not resisting. Keisha Steele said she saw Clark's hands behind his back. -
Keith Childress (23)
Las Vegas police got a call from U.S. marshals on New Year's Eve asking for help arresting an armed fugitive wanted for attempted murder. Within moments, the suspect, had been shot five times and later died.
Authorities learned that Childress was not wanted for attempted murder and had been carrying a cellphone, not a weapon.
This information raised concerns about miscommunication and decision-making in the police department. -
Alton Sterling (37)
37-year-old black man, was shot several times at close range while held down on the ground by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers, Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police were responding to a report that a man in a red shirt was selling CDs, and that he had used a gun to threaten a man outside a convenience store. The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders. A loaded handgun was in Sterling's front pants pocket. -
Philando Castile (32)
Castile was shot and killed by a police officer, after being pulled over. Castile was in a car with his girlfriend and her daughter. The shooting became famous from a video on Facebook where she is interacting with the officer as Castile lies slumped over, moaning and bloody. According to a police dashcam, Castile told the officer he had a firearm. After saying 'Don't pull it out' twice, the officer shot at Castile 7 times.The girlfriend says that Castile was shot while reaching for his ID. -
Tyree King (13)
A 13-year-old boy shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday night. Officers said in a statement they reacted when the young teen, Tyree King, started to pull what looked like a gun from his waistband. They later determined that the weapon was a BB gun.
