MoBetter News
Politics

118 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police

UPDATED: 7:30 p.m. ET, Oct. 21, 2021 —

The centuries-old American tradition of police shooting and killing Black males suffered an untraditional jolt in April when former cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty and convicted on all counts for murdering George Floyd by kneeling on the unarmed, handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes.

MORE: #SayHerName: Black Women And Girls Killed By Police

But it has been a quick resumption to police normalcy with multiple killings of Black people by law enforcement since the day of Chauvin’s verdict.

Case in point: Andra Murphy was killed by police in Tennessee on Oct. 6 under questionable circumstances. According to a press release emailed to NewsOne, Murphy was killed in the town of Bolivar when police shot him shortly after an unidentified gunman threatened correctional officers and fled the scene. However, “many believe Murphy was not the individual who was initially at the scene,” the press release from Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Murphy’s family, said in part.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Andra Murphy’s family – especially his wife and four children – as they grieve his loss,” Crump said in a brief statement. “While the investigation is ongoing, much more information is needed, not only for the family’s closure but to determine if this was a case of mistaken identity. The family has been given information that their loved one was innocently killed by the police because they assumed he was the initial gunman. We demand the release of video footage to show if the car that was driven by the initial gunman was the same car that Andra was driving when he arrived. The family continues to ask for your prayers for answers, transparency, and justice.”

Murphy’s names join a long list of other Black men and boys killed by the police, including people who have become household names for all the wrong reasons like Tamir Rice, Botham Jean, E.J. Bradford and Michael Brown. But there are plenty of others whose police killings never went “viral,” including people like Michael Dean, a 28-year-old father who police shot in the head on Dec. 3, 2019, and Jamee Johnson, a 22-year-old HBCU student who police shot to death after a questionable traffic stop on Dec. 14, 2019.

One of the most distressing parts of this seemingly nonstop string of police killings of Black people is the fact that more times than not, the officer involved in the shooting can hide behind the claim that they feared for their lives — even if the victim was shot in the back, as has become the case for so many deadly episodes involving law enforcement. In a handful of those cases — such as Antwon Rose, a 13-year-old boy killed in Pittsburgh, and Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old killed in Sacramento, both of whom were unarmed — the officers either avoided being criminally charged altogether or were acquitted despite damning evidence that the cops’ lives were not threatened and there was no cause for them to resort to lethal force or any violence for that matter.

Crump, who has been retained in so many of these cases, described the above scenarios in his book, “Open Season,” as the “genocide” of Black people.

As NewsOne continues covering these shootings that so often go ignored by mainstream media, the below running list (in no certain order) of Black men and boys who have been shot and killed by police under suspicious circumstances can serve as a tragic reminder of the dangers Black and brown citizens face upon being born into a world of hate that has branded them as suspects since birth.

Scroll down to learn more about the Black men and boys who have lost their lives to police violence.

window.addEventListener(‘interaction’, function () {
setTimeout(function () {
var s = document.createElement(‘script’), el = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[ 0 ];
s.async = true;
s.src = ‘https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
}, 1000)
});

1. George Watson

According to the police narrative, officers responded after someone called 911 to report a man brandishing a gun on an apartment balcony. The Washington Post reported that a cop fired at George Watson when he aimed the gun at police. The 34-year-old died on the scene. Officers ultimately determined that Watson was armed with a pellet gun typically used with paintballs that does not pose any lethal threat.

2. Antwan Gilmore

Antwan Gilmore was asleep in his car in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 25, 2021, when he was approached by police officers, one of whom proved once again that cops—who are celebrated in “back the blue” circles for their bravery and willingness to put their lives on the line—often open fire at the faintest sign of perceived danger. The officers found Gilmore in his car “unresponsive” with his foot on the brake while the car was running. They also said they could see a gun in his waistband.

When the car begins to move forward, officers can be heard shouting “Don’t move!” and “Police!” just before the shots were fired—10 shots to be exact. After the shooting, the gun police said they observed on Gilmore’s person was still in his waistband. Opening fire on a moving vehicle goes against Metropolitan Police Department policy.

3. Robert Anderson, 38

Robert Anderson was killed in Crescent City, California, on Aug. 25, 2021, after the 38-year-old former bus driver from Detroit had a fatal encounter with California Highway Patrol and officers with the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office. Police claim that Anderson was walking in the road with a knife in his hand. Reports mention body camera footage from multiple sources, but none was immediately released.

A Facebook video post made by Anderson that morning showed he appeared distressed and was shirtless walking through the woods. A friend of Anderson’s who saw him shortly before the shooting also said he was acting strangely during their visit. The combination suggests that Anderson may have been experiencing a mental crisis when police confronted and killed him.

4. Tory Brown, 22

Police gunned down Tory Brown on the night of Aug. 24, 2021, at the Chelsea Garden Apartments in College Park, Georgia, because he allegedly had a warrant out of Clayton County for violation of probation and cops said he refused to comply with police demands to exit an apartment.

No guns were found in Brown’s home, which means cops who were among a team of trained officers, none of whom were injured in the incident, felt the need to open fire on an unarmed man who did nothing more than “quickly advance towards” them.

5. Ryan LeRoux, 21

Ryan LeRoux, a 21-year-old Black man, was killed in Maryland on July 19, 2021, in a McDonald’s parking lot under questionable circumstances that cast doubt on the police narrative.

Four Montgomery County police officers responded by firing a total of 24 shots at LeRoux “over the course of several seconds,” the Washington Post reported, because they said he had a gun. His father said LeRoux’s gun was legally owned. There is no evidence that LeRoux wielded the gun, let alone threatened the police with it. In fact, it’s unclear what prompted the police to use deadly force if their lives were not threatened.

LeRoux’s father said he was shown about 25 minutes of bodycam video that police have said is too dark and “very difficult to see,” effectively allowing them to control the narrative of the shooting. Nevertheless, police have also said they “believe” the footage shows LeRoux brandishing the gun.

“So far, they have been unable to prove to me that my son raised a gun,” Paul LeRoux said. “They have not proved to me that Ryan showed any reason to justify the amount of lethal force.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has called for a full investigation into the shooting that was allegedly prompted by LeRoux refusing to move his car from the McDonald’s drive-thru. Police have said LeRoux “was not cooperative,” which ultimately led to “a use of force resulting in Mr. LeRoux behind [sic] shot by the officers.”

6. Leneal Frazier, 40

Death of Leneal Frazier

Source:Getty

Leneal Lamont Frazier was killed early morning on July 6, 2021, during a high-speed police pursuit in which he was not a suspect. But a Minneapolis police car chasing an alleged robbery suspect crashed into Frazier’s car, sending him to a hospital where he soon died from injuries sustained from the collision.

The family of Frazier, whose niece is Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the video of Chauvin murdering Floyd, retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump and have demanded accountability for the “irresponsible” killing caused directly by the police.

 

7. Demetrius Stanley, 31

Law enforcement in San Jose, California, released the video footage of Demetrius Stanley‘s fatal shooting, a 31-year-old Black man who was killed on May 31, 2021, Memorial Day. Police claim they were conducting surveillance on Stanley’s home related to an armed robbery Stanley was reportedly involved in earlier this spring.

Law enforcement officials say Stanley approached the officer’s unmarked vehicle and pointed his gun at the cops who were in plainclothes. Stanley’s family and supporters say that Stanley was protecting his home and family members after police failed to ID themselves in the unmarked vehicle, parked outside of his home. Community members have marched in the streets asking for transparency and accountability.

8. Ashton Pinke, 27

The Mesquite Police Department in Texas shot and killed Ashton Pinke on May 4 following what his family lawyer says should have been a wellness check by authorities. Instead, police claimed the 27-year-old Pinke charged at them “with a knife and a club,” purportedly leaving the officers no choice but to shoot to kill.

9. Andrew Brown, 42

Andrew Brown, of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, was killed on April 21 as Pasquotank County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve a search warrant.

Brown, who was unarmed and a father of 10, reportedly drove away in his car when police fired a total of six to eight shots. Brown’s family says that he did not hurt anyone prior to him being shot.

Brown’s killing came one day after the guilty verdict in the murder of George Floyd and the shooting of Ma’Khia Wright, a 16-year-old girl in Columbus, Ohio.

10. Matthew Williams, 35

Matthew Williams was killed by police on April 12, 2021, because he had a knife. However, Williams’ family rejects that narrative and has demanded the release of bodycam footage to verify police claim.

Williams died in his own home from the shooting.

The lawyer representing the family said the police are actively engaged in trying “to cover up killing a man in his own home.”

Local news outlet 11Alive reported that a witness said Williams was not armed with a knife when he was shot.

One of Williams’s five sisters said the police narrative is totally out of character for her brother.

“My brother was not violent. My brother was not confrontational,” Chyah Williams said. “He was the most caring, giving, selfless person you could ever meet.”

 

11. Daunte Wright, 20

Daunte Wright

Source:Twitter/@MeritLaw

Wright was killed on April 11, 2021, after officers pulled him over for displaying air fresheners on his rear-view mirror a traffic violation in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Police claim that after stopping Wright, they discovered a warrant for his arrest. When they attempted to detain him they claim that Wright hopped back into his car where an officer fired, fatally wounding him. The officer, Kim Potter, claimed she confused her Taser for her gun and meant to stun Wright instead of killing him. Potter was allowed to resign on her own terms before being arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, a charge that carries up to 10 years in prison.

12. Marvin D. Scott III, 26

Marvin D. Scott III

Source:GoFundMe

Marvin Scott III was a 26-year-old Black man who died in police custody in Texas.

13. Kurt Reinhold, 42

Protest Over Killing of Black Homeless Man

Source:Getty

Reinhold was shot to death on Sept. 23, 2020 after Orange County Deputies approached him, accusing him of jaywalking.

14. McHale Rose, 19

McHale Rose, 19, was shot and killed by police in Indianapolis on May 7, 2020, after officers responded to reports of a burglary that later turned out to be untrue. The police claimed that as they arrived, they were shot at. When they returned fire, Rose was fatally struck. A prosecutor later declined to bring charges against the officers involved because they were deemed to have been defending themselves.

Read the full report here.

15. Xzavier Hill, 18


Source:Change.org

18-year-old Xzavier Hill was shot and killed by Virginia State Troopers on Jan. 9 in what police claim to be a high speed pursuit on Interstate 64. Hill’s family are advocating for the release of dashcam footage which they believe conflict the police’s account of the chain of events. Police claim that Hill refused to exit the vehicle to display his hands, accusing him of brandishing a weapon that resulted in the troopers firing the fatal shot.

16. Frederick Cox, 18

Frederick Cox

Source:Facebook/Tenicka Shannon

Frederick Cox, an 18-year-old teen from High Point, North Carolina was was fatally shot by police while attending a funeral in Nov. 2020. 

17. Patrick Warren Sr.

Patrick Warren Sr., police shooting victim in Killeen, TX

Source:Patrick Warren Jr.

Patrick Warren Sr. was killed on Jan. 10 after an officer responded to his family’s attempt to contact mental health professionals when they noticed his behavior changing at their home in Killeen, Texas. 

After the family called authorities for help and were told that a mental health worker was not available, a police officer was sent to Warren’s home instead. Warren met the officers at the front door before he asked them to leave. When the officer “refused,” Warren’s family came to the door to see him being Tasered on the ground. That’s when one of the officers shot Warren, aimed the gun at Warren’s wife, then shot Warren again, according to the press release. It was unclear how many times Warren was shot, but it was at least twice.

18. Carl Dorsey III, 39

Dorsey was shot and killed on Jan. 1, 2021 in South Orange, New Jersey, during a police confrontation. Little details are known regarding what led to the shooting. The state attorney general’s office has launched an investigation.

19. Dolal Idd, 23

Dolal Idd

Source:GoFundMe

Dolal Idd was the first police involved death in Minneapolis since George Floyd. Police claim Idd was pulled over as a felony suspect during a traffic stop on Wednesday. He died of multiple gunshot wounds after police say he fired at officers. His manner of death is homicide, according to a news release obtained by CNN. Idd’s death stirred up community concern due to the ongoing deaths of Black people at the hands of police, along with his family disputing the police’s account of events.

20. Andre’ Hill, 47

 Andre’ Hill was shot and killed by Officer Adam Coy in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 22, 2020 while holding a cell phone. Hill is the second Black man fatally shot by city police just weeks after the tragic shooting of Casey Goodson Jr., who was killed while holding a sandwich. His case is of significance due to the fact that Coy turned off his body camera leading up to the shooting and then switched it back on directly after. City officials and activists are calling for his termination although he has been placed on temporary paid leave.

21. Joshua Feast

Joshua Feast was killed in Texas by La Marque Police Officer Jose Santos on Dec. 9, 2020. Santos shot Feast in the back while the 22-year-old Black man was running away. Santos has been involved with at least one other incident of “brutalizing” a different young Black man. The La Marque Police Department was immediately hesitant to release Sants’ bodycam footage as community residents demanding the firings of Santos and the police chief.

22. Maurice Gordon

Maurice Gordon, New Jersey State Police shooting victim

Source:Mercury LLC

Maurice Gordon was shot and killed by a New Jersey State Trooper during a traffic stop on May 22, 2020, just days before George Floyd‘s brutal killing. Despite efforts to inform the police on multiple occasions that Gordon may be experiencing mental health issues, the 28-year-old Black man was somehow shot six times following a physical struggle that included Gordon being pepper-sprayed before he was killed. The officer has provided conflicting accounts of the shooting that was being investigated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.

An online petition is demanding Sgt. Randall Wetzel is charged for killing Gordon.

23. Casey Goodson Jr.

Casey Goodson Jr., Ohio police shooting victim

Source:Walton + Brown, LLP

Casey Goodson Jr. “was shot and killed as he unlocked his door and entered his home” in Franklin County, Ohio, on Dec. 4. A Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy working with US Marshals shot Goodson, but the 23-year-old Black man “was not a target of that task force, according to Walton + Brown, LLP, the law firm representing his family.

Police claim Goodson was brandishing a gun, but he was legally licensed to carry a concealed gun in an open-carry state.

Goodson “Casey was shot and killed as he unlocked his door and entered his home. His death was witnessed by his 72-year-old Grandmother and two toddlers who were near the door,” Walton + Brown, LLP wrote in its press release about the shooting. 

24. Rodney Applewhite

Rodney Applewhite, killed by New Mexico state police

Source:Ben Crump

Rodney Applewhite, 25, was shot and killed by New Mexico State Police after a traffic stop, claiming Applewhite fled the scene and attempted to disarm a police officer. His family say they’ve received little to no information regarding his Nov. 19 death, and are looking for transparency in the case. Applewhite was travelling to Arizona to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his family.

Prior to his death Applewhite was on the path to reforming his life, working two jobs while on probation. 

25. A.J. Crooms

A.J. Crooms, 16, was a passenger in a car that police tried to pull over on Nov. 13 in Cocoa, Florida. When the driver tried to drive around squad cars from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, officers fired at the car at close range, killing Crooms and Sincere Pierce, the 18-year-old driver.

Dashcam footage from the scene suggested there was never a direct threat to the officers’ lives, which left unanswered questions about their decision to use lethal force.

26. Sincere Pierce

Sincere Pierce, 18, was driving in Cocoa, Florida, when police tried to pull him over about “a possible stolen car.” Dashcam video shows the car tried to drive around Brevard County Office squad cars when officers fired multiple times at close range, killing both Pierce and 16-year-old passenger A.J. Crooms on Nov. 13.

The dashcam footage suggested the officers’ lives were not directly threatened and didn’t call for the use of lethal force.

27. Walter Wallace Jr.

Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old father, was suffering from mental illness when police killed him in broad daylight on a street in Philadelphia on Oct. 26, 2020.

After his family called for help, police responded and shot him dead in less than a minute after arriving. His killing was recorded on video by a bystander and showed Wallace holding a kitchen knife and ignoring officers’ orders to drop it. However, Wallace was not within striking distance of the officers and didn’t appear to threaten their lives. 

Still, officers opened fire and shot at Wallace at least 12 times.

28. Marcellis Stinnette, teen killed by police in Waukegan, Illinois

Marcellis Stinnette, teen killed by police in Waukegan, Illinois

Source:Twitter

Marcellis Stinnette, 19, was killed Oct. 20, 2020, in the Illinois city of Waukegan after police claimed the car he was a passenger in reversed toward the officer who shot them. However, witnesses said the police officer hit them with his car before he opened fire.

The shooting injured his girlfriend, Tafara Williams, 20, who was driving at the time.

29. Jonathan Price

Jonathan Price, 31, was killed the night of Oct. 3, 2020, at a gas station in Wolfe City, Texas, after he stopped to intervene in a domestic dispute between a woman and man. Texas Rangers said Price resisted in a “non-threatening posture and began walking away” when Officer Shaun Lucas first fired his stun gun and then fatally shot his firearm fat Price.

An affidavit said Price tried to shake Lucas’ hand before he was shot to death. Lucas has since been fired, arrested and charged with first-degree murder. 

30. Deon Kay

31. Daniel Prude

32. Damian Daniels

33. Dijon Kizzee

34. Trayford Pellerin

Trayford Pellerin, Lafayette, Louisiana police shooting victim

Source:GoFundMe

Trayford Pellerin was killed in Louisiana after the Lafayette Police Department responded to a disturbance at a convenience store on the night of Aug. 21, 2020, according to a news release from the Louisiana State Police. The incident allegedly involved someone armed with a knife. When cops arrived, Pellerin was in the parking lot before “he fled the scene and a foot pursuit ensued.” Cops then tried in vain to Taser him. When Pellerin tried to enter the convenience store, cops drew their guns and shot him. Pellerin was shot multiple times and the whole incident was captured in a graphic video.

35. David McAtee

The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and the National Guard killed David McAtee while the businessman was attending a protest against police violence inspired by the in-custody killing of George Floyd. Read more about his life and police’s preventable shooting by clicking here.

36. Natosha “Tony” McDade

Natosha “Tony” McDade was killed on May 27, 2020, when officers from the Tallahassee Pice Department opened fire for allegedly having a gun pointed at them. The identities of the cops involved in McDade’s shooting continue to be shielded by the Tallahassee courts due to a questionable application of Marsy’s law, a 2018 constitutional amendment designed to expand the rights of crime victims.  

37. George Floyd

George Floyd died May 25, 2020, after a police officer in Minneapolis kneeled on the neck of the 46-year-old handcuffed man who was lying face down on a street. The entire episode was recorded on video by one of many bystanders who heard Floyd tell police he couldn’t breathe, repeated pleas that went ignored. The four responding officers involved were fired as protesters demanded they also be charged with Floyd’s murder.

38. Yassin Mohamed

A police officer in Georgia shot and killed Yassin Mohamed on May 9 in the city of Claxton. A press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) seemed to blame the shooting on Mohamed, who was accused of throwing rocks at a deputy from the Evans County Sheriff’s Office. According to the press release, in the hours before the shooting, Mohamed “attacked an officer with a pipe, as well as attacked an ambulance.” When the deputy who killed him responded to another call about Mohamed being “on foot in the middle of the road,” the press release says Mohamed threw rocks at the deputy. “Mohamed then charged the deputy with a larger rock at which point the deputy discharged his firearm, striking Mohamed,” the press released said. Mohamed died at the scene at the age of 47. 

The GBI has stated that it would turn its investigation over to the district attorney once completed. Until then, no charges can be filed in the death of Mr. Mohammed and it remains unclear if the police involved in the shooting is still on active duty.  

39. Finan H. Berhe

Finan H. Berhe was shot and killed by a Montgomery County Police Department officer on May 8 in White Oak, Maryland. He was 30 years old. Hours after the shooting, the Montgomery Police Department identified the police office who fatally shot Finan H. Berhe as Sgt. David Cohen and released a 30-second video of the shooting recorded from a police officer’s bodycam. While the investigation continues into the shooting of Finan H. Berhe, Sgt. David Cohen remains on paid administrative leave. 

40. Sean Reed

Sean Reed, Black man killed by Indianapolis police on Facebook Live

Source:Twitter

Sean Reed‘s death on May 6, 2020, was live-streamed on Facebook during a footrace running away from police, who Tasered and shot and killed the unarmed 21-year-old Black man who was also a U.S. military veteran. With the Facebook Live still recording, police can be heard joking about how Reed would need a “closed casket” funeral.

41. Steven Demarco Taylor

Steven Demarco Taylor Walmart shooting in San Leandro, California

Source:S. Lee Merritt

The death of Steven Demarco Taylor, who was holding a baseball bat and having a manic episode when he was tasered multiple times and fatally shot inside a California Walmart on April 18, 2020, was captured on video by a bystander. The lawyer for the family of Taylor — who was only 33 years old and a father of three — claims the shooting was “excessive” since officers had already Tasered him.

42. Ariane McCree

Ariane McCree

Source:The Herald/YouTube

Ariane McCree was shot and killed by two Chester Police officers in South Carolina after being detained for allegedly shoplifting at a Walmart on Nov. 23. Police claimed that the 28-year-old was placed in custody, then fled and showed officers a gun. However, the family of McCree, who have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claims that he was “handcuffed, with his hands behind his back, when he was fatally shot.”

43. Terrance Franklin

Terrance Franklin was fatally shot by Minneapolis Police’s SWAT team in 2013 after suspecting that he was involved in a burglary. Officers and officials claim that Franklin tried to wrestle a M5 rifle from one of the officers. However, in a 2014 lawsuit filed by Franklin’s father, the family claims that he had already surrendered and had his hands up.

Nearly six years later, the Minneapolis City Council approved a $796,000 settlement with Terrance Franklin’s family. 

44. Miles Hall

Miles Hall

Source:KRON4

Miles Hall, a 23-year-old man who suffered from mental illness, was fatally shot by Walnut Creek Police in San Francisco on June 2, 2019. Hall’s family claims they called the police because he was behaving erratically, while running outside with a metal pole. Instead of deescalating the situation using crisis intervention training, which the officers have received, the man was fatally wounded. The family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

45. Darius Tarver

Darius Tarver

Source:S. Lee Merritt

Darius Tarver, a 23-year-old University of North Texas student, was shot and killed by police in Denton, Texas, on Jan. 21 during a confrontation at an apartment complex. According to the cops, Tarver was approached by responding officers after residents called 911 about a guy who was banging on doors and yelling for someone to let him in. “Tarver’s father, a McKinney Police Department chaplain was allowed to see the bodycam from the shooting and believes it sharply contradicts official narratives,” civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt said.

46. William Green

Green was reportedly pulled over for driving erratically, handcuffed and placed in the front seat of a police cruiser in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on the night of Jan. 27 before a police officer entered the car and shot him while he was restrained by the cuffs as well as a seat belt. Police have tried to criminalize him as a suspected drug user, but either way Green was already restrained when police shot him, meaning there is no way cops could have feared for their lives before deciding to shoot him. This is America.

47. Samuel David Mallard, 19

When cops went to serve a warrant to Samuel David Mallard at his home, the 19-year-old reportedly fled before officers stopped he vehicle and “Issued verbal command,” according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. What came next, though, was unclear — except for the part where four police officers all fired shots at Mallard, who local news outlets said vaguely “did not cooperate” with law enforcement. Conveniently, the GBI also announced that “a gun was found in Mallard’s vehicle,” although there were no reports that alleged gun ever posed a threat to the lives of the officers involved.

48. Kwame “KK” Jones, 17

Kwame

Source:facebook

Kwame “KK” Jones was killed by police after he and a friend were stopped while driving in a car in Jacksonville, Florida, on Jan. 5, 2020. Police said that an officer approached the car and “an exchange” ensued. The cop then fired his weapon several times, striking both Jones and the other unidentified male, who survived the shooting. Jones did not. Police claim there was a rifle in the car, which Jones’ family said was suspicious since the photo evidence is “of a gun that has already been booked into evidence and not a photo from the scene.”

49. De’von Bailey, 19

The 19-year-old was shot in the back by police on Aug. 3. In November of 2019, a grand jury unanimously decided to not indict the two police officers who shot him.

50. Christopher Whitfield, 31

The unarmed Louisiana man was shot and killed by police after he was accused of stealing raw chicken. Whitfield struggled with mental health issues.

51. Anthony Hill, 26

Anthony Hill, an Air Force veteran, was unarmed and naked when he was killed at 26 years old in March of 2015. Former officer Robert Olsen was found guilty of aggravated assault, one count of making false statements and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer — but not murder or manslaughter.

52. De’Von Bailey, 19

De’Von Bailey was only 19 years old when he was shot and killed by Colorado Springs police on Aug. 3. Police claimed he was reaching for a gun, which has not been proven.

53. Eric Logan, 54

Eric Logan was killed June 16, 2019, in South Bend, Indiana, where presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is mayor. Sgt. Ryan O’Neill said he was responding to a call that someone was breaking into cars before he claimed Logan threatened him with a knife. O’Neill did not activate his body camera during the encounter, which is against city policy. Logan’s family announced they sued the city and O’Neill. The lawsuit claimed O’Neill violated Logan’s civil rights in several ways, including using excessive force with willfulness and reckless indifference and subjecting him to “unlawful treatment on the basis of race.” The lawsuit also blamed the city for not properly training, supervising, controlling and disciplining officers. The family alleged the city also violated the constitutional rights of residents on a “regular basis” by rarely investigating wrongdoing by officers.

54. Jamarion Robinson, 26

Jamarion Robinson was killed by police in East Point, Georgia, in August of 2016. He was shot 76 times after refusing to open the door of his girlfriend’s home when officers knocked. Police then kicked in the door and began firing.

55. Gregory Hill Jr., 30

Gregory Hill Jr. was killed in a matter of seconds after police shot him in his own garage in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Jan. 14, 2014. Reports said local residents called police with a noise complaint because of the loud music being played in the garage. When Hill opened the garage and saw it was police, he tried to close it before police shot him in the head and elsewhere. Hill’s family has maintained he was unarmed when he was shot. The family of Gregory Hill was awarded a grand total of four cents after a federal jury concluded in 2019 that the police involved in the shooting did not use excessive force. 

56. JaQuavion Slaton, 20

JaQuavion Slaton was killed in a hail of as many as 10 shots in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 11, 2019. Officers claimed Slaton had a gun but had not provided any proof.

57. Ryan Twyman, 24

On June 6, 2019, Ryan Twyman was reportedly unarmed inside a parked car when he was shot 37 times by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department.

58. Brandon Webber, 20

On June 12, Brandon Webber was reportedly shot 20 times U. S. Marshalls in his family’s yard in Memphis, Tennessee. He was only 20 years old.

59. Jimmy Atchison, 21

On Jan. 22, 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison was shot and killed by police officer Sung Kim. Police allegedly entered an apartment complex with military assault-style rifles to execute a run-of-the-mill warrant for robbery.

60. Willie McCoy, 20

On February 9, 2019, Willie McCoy fell asleep at a drive through in Vallejo, California. When police approached him, he was shot 25 times. Police claimed there was a gun in his lap. His lawyer told The New York Times shortly after the shooting, “He was just riddled with bullets. It was really a shock how many times he was actually struck.”

61. Emantic “EJ” Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., 21

Emantic “EJ” Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. was shot by police while trying to save people from a shooter at an Alabama mall. The military veteran was killed on Thanksgiving night.

62. D’ettrick Griffin, 18

On Jan. 15, the 18-year-old was reportedly attempting to steal a car from a police officer who wasn’t in uniform. He reportedly slid into the driver’s seat the cop was pumping gas. Griffin tried to drive away and the officer filed multiple shots. There was no weapon on Griffin.

63. Jemel Roberson, 26


Source:false

The 26-year-old was reportedly gunned down by cops when he was trying to save people from a mass shooter on November 11, 2018 in Oak Lawn, Illinois.

64. DeAndre Ballard, 23


Source:false

On Sept 18, 2018, the N.C. Central University student was fatally shot on campus by a security guard with the N.C. Detective Agency. The guard claimed he shot the unarmed 23-year-old in self defense.

65. Botham Shem Jean, 26


Source:false

Botham Shem Jean was killed on Sept. 6, 2018, when off-duty police officer Amber Guyger entered his home and shot him to death in Dallas. Her excuse: She said she thought it was her apartment. She was later charged with manslaughter three days after the shooting.

66. Antwon Rose Jr., 17


Source:false

On June 19, in Pittsburgh, 17-year-old Antwon Rose was shot and killed by Officer Michael H. Rosfeld during a traffic stop. He would have been 18 on July 12.

67. Robert Lawrence White, 41


Source:false

On June 11, Robert Lawrence White was fatally shot in Silver Spring, Maryland. A minutes-long confrontation ensued between Montgomery County Police Department officer Anand Badgujar over a “suspicious” person reported in the area. White, who was unarmed, began walking away from the scene the officer fired several rounds and Lawrence was killed.

68. Anthony Lamar Smith, 24

Anthony Lamar Smith, 24

Source:Getty

Anthony Lamar Smith was shot and killed in December 2011 by former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley after a car chase. Stockley’s acquittal in September 2017 sparked protests.

69. Ramarley Graham, 18

Ramarley Graham, 18

Source:Getty

Ramarley Graham was unarmed when New York City police officer Richard Haste — who chased Graham into his Bronx home during an alleged drug bust gone awry — shot and killed him in front of his grandmother and little brother in his bathroom on Feb. 2, 2012.

70. Manuel Loggins Jr., 31

Manuel Loggins Jr., 31

Source:Getty

Manuel Loggins Jr, an unarmed U.S. Marine sergeant and married father of three, was fatally shot by a deputy after he reportedly crashed through a gate while driving an SUV with his daughters inside the vehicle at a high school parking lot in San Clemente, California during the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2012.

71. Trayvon Martin, 17

Trayvon Martin, 17

Source:Getty

Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida, sparking a movement against excessive force and police violence.

72. Wendell Allen, 20

Wendell Allen, 20

Source:Getty

Officer Joshua Colclough fired a single bullet into the chest of a shirtless and unarmed Wendell Allen during a drug raid at Allen’s home— with several children between the ages of 1 and 14 inside the house — in the Gentilly section of New Orleans on March 7, 2012.

73. Kendrec McDade, 19

Kendrec McDade, 19

Source:Getty

Kendrec McDade, a local football star, was gunned down by Pasadena, California police, who responded to a report of a robbery when they pursued McDade on foot and claimed he reached toward his waistband for a weapon, on March 24, 2012.

74. Larry Jackson Jr., 32

Larry Jackson Jr., 32

Source:Getty

On July 26, 2013, Larry Eugene Jackson Jr., a father of three, was killed by police officer Charles Kleinert who commandeered a woman’s car and chased an unarmed Jackson after an interrogation about a robbery at a bank in Austin, Texas.

75. Jonathan Ferrell, 24

Jonathan Ferrell, 24

Source:Getty

Unarmed former Florida A&M University football player Jonathan Ferrell was fatally struck by 10 of 12 shots fired by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick after the cop responded to a home — where Ferrell had supposedly gone for help after a car wreck just outside of Charlotte — on Sept. 14, 2013.

76. Jordan Baker, 26

Jordan Baker, 26

Source:Getty

Jordan Baker was fatally shot on Jan. 16, 2014 by Houston, Texas police officer Juventino Castro, a Hispanic cop who was off duty but in uniform, during what his family said was a racial profiling stop at a strip mall that highlighted failures among police in training cops in the proper use of deadly force.

77. Victor White lll, 22

Victor White lll, 22

Source:Getty

Victor White lll died while handcuffed in the back of a police car from what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound — though White’s father maintained that his son was fatally shot by police in what his attorney believed was a cover-up — outside of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana during an alleged drug arrest in the early morning hours on March 3, 2014.

78. Dontre Hamilton, 31

Dontre Hamilton, 31

Source:Getty

Police officer Christopher Manney fired 14 shots and killed Dontre Hamilton, who was reportedly mentally ill, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 30, 2014 after responding to a call for a welfare check on a man sleeping in the park.

79. Eric Garner, 43

Eric Garner, 43

Source:Getty

Eric Garner, a father of six, died after New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in an apparent chokehold — a tactic prohibited by NYPD policy — as he wailed “I can’t breathe” during a videotaped arrest for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes in Staten Island, New York on July 17, 2014.

80. John Crawford lll, 22

John Crawford lll, 22

Source:Getty

John Crawford lll was fatally shot on Aug. 5, 2014 after police responded to an emergency call about someone waving a rifle — a bb gun that Crawford carried — at a Walmart store in Beavercreek, a suburb in Dayton, Ohio.

81. Michael Brown, 18

Michael Brown, 18

Source:Getty

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was fatally shot on Aug. 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, prompting nationwide protests and an agreement with the Department of Justice for police reforms after a blistering DOJ probe uncovered routine racist practices among police.

82. Ezell Ford, 25

Ezell Ford, 25

Source:Getty

Ezell Ford, whose family described him as mentally ill, died after he was shot multiple times by Los Angeles Police Department officers in Florence, California, on August 11, 2014.

83. Dante Parker, 36

Dante Parker, 36

Source:Getty

Dante Parker, a father of five, died on August 12, 2014 after he was Tasered by a San Bernardino County, California, Sheriff’s Deputy, who tried to restrain him on a suspicion of trying to break into a home.

84. Kajieme Powell, 25

Kajieme Powell, 25

Source:Getty

Two police officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan police fatally fired 12 shots at Kajieme Powell, a mentally ill man who was suspected of shoplifting at a convenience store, on Aug. 19, 2014, less than four miles from where police killed Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014.

85. Laquan McDonald, 17

Laquan McDonald, 17

Source:Getty

Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in the city’s South Side area on October 20, 2014, with police dashboard camera video of the shooting death having amplified outrage toward a beleaguered police department grappling with a reported record of collusion, cover-ups and excessive force against Blacks.

86. Akai Gurley, 28

Akai Gurley, 28

Source:Getty

Akai Gurley was fatally shot on November 20, 2014 in New York City by NYPD officer Peter Liang in a dark public housing stairwell.

87. Tamir Rice, 12

Tamir Rice, 12

Source:Getty

On Nov. 22, 2014, Tamir E. Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police at a park outside of a recreation center after he reportedly reached for a fake pistol — an airsoft-type gun replica of a semi-automatic handgun that shot pellets — which cops mistook for a weapon.

88. Rumain Brisbon, 34

Rumain Brisbon, 34

Source:Getty

Police officer Mark Rine opened fire and killed Rumain Brisbon when he found Brisbon with what he claimed looked like a gun in his pocket — though the item turned out to be a bottle of painkillers according to reports — after he responded to a tip about a suspected drug deal at a north Phoenix, Arizona apartment complex on Dec. 2, 2014.

89. Jerame Reid, 36

Jerame Reid, 36

Source:Getty

Two Bridgeton, New Jersey police officers fired fatal shots at Jerame Reid, who they alleged defied orders to remain in a vehicle and stepped out of the passenger’s side, with his hands raised, during a traffic stop on Dec. 30, 2014 in a shooting death that prompted protests in the predominantly Black city.

90. Charly Keunang, 43

Charly Keunang, 43

Source:Getty

Charly Leundeu Keunang, a homeless Cameroonian national, was shot and killed by three Los Angeles police officers after supposedly reaching for a cop’s holstered gun during a struggle in the city’s skid row area on March 1, 2015 in a shooting death that garnered international attention when a Facebook video was posted.

91. Tony Robinson, 19

Tony Robinson, 19

Source:Getty

A Madison, Wisconsin cop fatally shot unarmed teen Tony Robinson seven times after the officer responded to reports of a battery at a residence and a struggle ensued between the two on March 6, 2015 — a shooting that led to protests and a sit-in at Madison City Hall.

92. Walter Scott, 50

Walter Scott, 50

Source:Getty

Walter Scott was killed by North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael Slager, who fired eight shots at the father of four after having chased him on foot following a traffic stop on April 4, 2015.

93. Freddie Gray, 25

Freddie Gray, 25

Source:Getty

Freddie Gray died in Baltimore on April 19, 2015 — a week after he was arrested, dragged into a police van, restrained and suffered a spine injury during a brutal incident involving six officers that amplified police and community tensions.

94. Brendon Glenn, 29

Brendon Glenn, 29

Source:Getty

Video footage captured the fatal shooting of Brendon Glenn, an unarmed homeless man, by Los Angeles police officer Clifford Proctor, a black cop who claimed Glenn attempted grabbing his gun during a struggle along the Venice beach boardwalk, on May 5, 2015 in a tragedy that fueled criticisms of police’s treatment of African-Americans.

95. Samuel DuBose, 43

Samuel DuBose, 43

Source:Getty

On July 19, 2015, University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing fired a fatal shot through a car window that struck Samuel DuBose in the head during a traffic stop near the university’s campus in Ohio.

96. Christian Taylor, 19

Christian Taylor, 19

Source:Getty

Texas teenager and star football player Christian Taylor, who allegedly had marijuana and synthetic drugs in his system and acted erratically, was killed by an Arlington police officer during a suspected burglary at a car dealership on Aug. 7, 2015.

97. Jamar Clark, 24

Jamar Clark, 24

Source:Getty

After responding to a domestic dispute, Minneapolis, Minnesota police fatally shot an unarmed Jamar Clark during an altercation on Nov. 15, 2015 that spurred Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and other activists to fight using #Justice4Jamar.

98. Mario Woods, 26

Mario Woods, 26

Source:Getty

San Francisco police reportedly fired more than 20 gunshots at Mario Woods, who cops suspected of a stabbing, during a stand-off on Dec. 2, 2015 that underscored the SFPD’s documented history of systematic racism.

99. Quintonio LeGrier, 19

Quintonio LeGrier, 19

Source:Getty

Quintonio LeGrier, who called 911 a reported three times for help in a domestic disturbance with his father, was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer, who claimed LeGrier came out him with a baseball bat, on Dec. 26, 2015 in an alleged racially motivated shooting that also left LeGrier’s 55-year-old neighbor Bettie Jones fatally wounded.

100. Gregory Gunn, 58

Gregory Gunn, 58

Source:Getty

Gregory Gunn was fatally struck by five shots fired by a white Montgomery, Alabama police officer, who claimed he looked “suspicious” while walking home from a friend’s home in the early hours of Feb. 5, 2016 — the incident shed light on several past episodes of police violence dating back decades in Montgomery.

101. Akiel Denkins, 24

Akiel Denkins, 24

Source:Getty

Akiel Denkins was gunned down by a white Raleigh, North Carolina police officer during a foot chase when he attempted fleeing a drug-related arrest and allegedly pulled a handgun out on Feb. 29, 2016.

102. Alton Sterling, 37

Alton Sterling, 37

Source:Getty

Alton Sterling was shot to death on July 5, 2016 when two white officers pinned him to the pavement during an arrest outside a convenience store where he had sold CDs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The cops weren’t charged with any crime.

103. Philando Castile, 32

Philando Castile, 32

Source:Getty

Philando Castile, a cafeteria supervisor in St. Paul, Minnesota, was shot and killed by police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop for a “busted tail light” in Falcon Heights on July 6, 2016, with his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds having livestreamed the horrific moments after his shooting on Facebook Live.

104. Terrence Sterling, 31

Terrence Sterling, 31

Source:Getty

Terrence Sterling, a motorcyclist from Fort Washington, Maryland, was fatally shot twice in his neck and back by a Washington, D.C. police officer during the early morning on Sept. 11, 2016 after cops received a call about a motorcyclist driving recklessly in the area.

105. Terence Crutcher, 40

Terence Crutcher, 40

Source:Getty

Footage from a police dashboard camera captured the moment when an unarmed Terence Crutcher was fatally shot by police officer Betty Shelby in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sept. 16, 2016 after police reportedly received 911 calls about his stalled SUV blocking a road.

106. Keith Lamont Scott, 43

Keith Lamont Scott, 43

Source:Getty

Keith Lamont Scott was killed by a black officer Brentley Vinson, who believed he had a gun, after exiting his SUV during a confrontation at his apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sept. 20, 2016 in an incident that led to a governor-declared state of emergency after violent protests.

107. Alfred Olango, 38

Alfred Olango, 38

Source:Getty

Alfred Olango, an Ugandan refugee, was fatally shot during a reported “mental breakdown” by El Cajon, California police on Sept. 27, 2016 after he pulled out a vaping device in front of cops in a shopping center.

108. Jordan Edwards, 15

Jordan Edwards, 15

Source:Getty

Jordan Edwards was shot in the head and killed by Balch Springs, Texas cop Roy Oliver, who fired rounds into a vehicle hitting the teen sitting in the front passenger seat after leaving a party, on April 29, 2017.

109. Stephon Clark, 22


Source:false

On Sunday, March 18, 2018, Sacramento police responded to a call “that a thin, 6-foot-1 Black man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants was hiding in a residential backyard after breaking car windows,” according to The Sacramento Bee. Just eight minutes later, officers fired over 20 times at 22-year-old Stephon Clark — in his own backyard. Reportedly, they “feared” for their lives because they saw a gun in his hand. It turned out he was only carrying a cellphone.

110. Danny Ray Thomas, 34


Source:false

In March 2018, Danny Ray Thomas, 34, was arguing with another person and acting erratic when the deputy arrived at the scene. The Houston officer fired a single shot at Thomas, who died later at a hospital. Authorities claimed that Thomas had an object in his hand, but investigators did not recover a weapon.

111. DeJuan Guillory, 27


Source:false

A police officer shot DeJuan Guillory On July 6, a Louisana officer Holden LaFleur shot DeJuan Guillory while he was riding an ATV with his girlfriend on a gravel road. The officer claimed he pulled them over to ask for their identification after responding to a call for an ATV theft. The officer claimed Guillory had attacked him and that the girlfriend went for his gun as he tried to make an arrest. Guillory, 27, who was unarmed, was shot dead and his girlfriend, DeQuince Brown, was later charged with the attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. Guillory was shot in the back.

112. Patrick Harmon, 50

On August 13, 2017, Patrick Harmon was shot and killed by police in Salt Lake City, Utah. The district attorney said the shooting was “legally justified.”

113. Jonathan Hart, 21

Jonathan Hart was a 21-year-old Black gay man who was homeless in the Los Angeles area. On December 4, he was reportedly shot and killed in the back by a security guard in a Walgreens. He was allegedly shoplifting, but eyewitnesses said he was not stealing.

114. Maurice Granton, 24

On June 6, Maurice Granton, 24, was reportedly unarmed when he was shot in the back and killed by police in Chicago. The police report accused Granton of producing a weapon but body cam footage appeared to show there was no weapon. The family filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police in July of 2018.

115. Julius Johnson, 23

In 2009, the unarmed 23-year-old was killed by Officer Charles Anderson who claimed he was attacked and “feared for his life.” Johnson’s sister told detectives that she heard her brother plead for his life before being killed but she was charged with lying to police and was sentenced to three months in jail. Ten years later, a KKK application was found framed in Anderson’s home.

116. Jamee Johnson, 22

Jamee Johnson, FAMU student killed by police in Jacksonville, Florida

Source:S. Lee Merritt

Jamee Johnson, a student at the historically Black Florida A&M University, was killed by police in Jacksonville on Dec. 14, 2019, after a questionable traffic stop. Police say that Johnson was armed and tried to flee in his car, but his parents say he was legally licensed to possess a firearm in an open-carry state and that he never would have broken the law. There were no immediate charges against the officers involved and civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and S. Lee Merritt have been retained by Johnson’s family to investigate.

117. Michael Dean, 28

Michael Dean

Source:S. Lee Merritt

Michael Dean, a 28-year-old father, was shot in the head by trigger-happy Temple Police Department Officer Carmen DeCruz, in Texas on Dec. 3, 2019. A preliminary autopsy report declared Dean’s death a homicide. But as of Dec. 20, police had not released any other information in a suspected coverup. Dean’s mother said a police detective initially told her that her son didn’t pull over right away and when he exited the car, he walked toward the officer, who then shot him.

Read Full Post

Related posts

COMMENTARY: Our Nation Has a Problem with Guns and it Needs to Be Fixed

Politics Podcast: Debating Our Own House Forecast

Clare Malone

More Black Employees Hit Tesla With Latest Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Zack Linly