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Board of Directors
Board of Directors
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN POLICY FORUM
#SAYHERNAME IN MEMORIAM
Priscilla died after allegedly being found unresponsive in her holding cell. The day before, Priscilla had been arrested in connection with a shooting incident. Two supervisors and four civilian aids of the police department have since been placed on administrative leave. Michigan State Police have launched an investigation into Priscilla’s death.
Acting pursuant to a “no-knock” warrant, three plainclothes police officers forced their way into Breonna’s apartment early in the morning and fired over 20 rounds, shooting her at least eight times and killing her. The intended suspect of the warrant, sought in connection with a drug investigation, had in fact been apprehended earlier that morning. No drugs were found at the apartment and Breonna was unarmed. The police initially attempted depict Breonna as a “suspect.” Louisville has since passed “Breonna’s Law,” which bans no-knock warrants, and Congress has introduced legislation to prohibit such warrants at the federal level. But three months after Breonna’s shooting death, no charges have been brought against the officers involved, as Beyoncé highlighted in her June 14 letter to the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, urging him to act.
Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, 28
October 12, 2019
Fort Worth, TX
Atatiana was shot and killed by Aaron Dean, a White police officer, in her home early in the morning. She had been watching her 8-year-old nephew, when she heard noises outside, reportedly retrieved her handgun, and headed toward the window to inspect. Dean had been responding to a “welfare call,” placed by Atatiana’s neighbor to a non-emergency telephone number. Dean has since retired and been indicted for murder.
Officers shot Ragland, who had a fake gun and yelled at officers to shoot her. Ragland was shot when she was retrieving for the fake gun in her pocket. Ragland may have been suffering from a mental illness at the time. The officers who shot Ragland were cleared of wrongdoing.
Turner, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was shot and killed by police during the course of an arrest. The officer alleged that he spotted Turner and sought to arrest her because he recognized her and knew she had an outstanding warrant for criminal mischief. The officer lived in the same apartment complex as Turner. Turner told the officer she was just walking to her apartment and he was harassing her. Shortly afterward, the officer fired his taser at Turner. While Turner was on the ground, the officer backed away and then shot Turner five times. Police allege that, while the officer was attempting to handcuff Turner, she grabbed hold of his taser and fired it in his direction, grazing him. The Baytown Police Department indicated they knew that Turner suffered from mental illness.
Walton, a mother of two, was shot by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. FHP officials alleged that Walton was driving erratically and that she drove toward the direction of an FHP officer who had stopped her. That officer, Ronald Melendez-Bonilla fired multiple shots and killed Walton. A video of the encounter shows Walton attempting to flee but does not clearly show her driving towards the FHP trooper. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident and Walton’s family and lawyer have called for a DOJ civil rights investigation and have called on law enforcement to release dashcam footage and other evidence.
Brittany died while in custody at the Dorchester County Detention Center. She was transported to Trident Medical Center and was pronounced dead.
Angel Decarlo was shot and killed by a Hopewell police officer after Decarlo pointed a gun at the officer. Some reports suggest that Decarlo suffered from schizophrenia.
April Webster was shot and killed by police who came to her home after Elizabeth Gainey, Webster’s wife, called police to report that Webster was threatening to harm themselves. Police told Gainey that they would use non-lethal methods to calm the situation. Webster suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Officers near a car Simpson was in at a gas station smelled marijuana and called in a suspicious vehicle. Officers asked Simpson for identification and during the incident Simpson fired shots that struck an officer. Officers shot and killed Simpson.
Phillips was unarmed when she was shot and killed by San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies. Deputies were responding to reports of a fight at a used car dealership and claim that Phillips was uncooperative and attempted to drive her vehicle towards deputies when she was shot and killed. Family members and an attorney they retained strongly dispute that Phillips attempted to drive towards the deputies or that she posed any threat to the deputies.
Officers responded to a report that Blackwell had murdered her neighbor. When officers arrived at her apartment complex, Blackwell was holding a gun and a knife. Police ordered her to put down the weapons and tasered her before shooting her.
Cynthia
Fields, 60
July 27, 2018
Savannah, GA
Cynthia Fields was shot and killed by Savannah Police. Fields was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout between Savannah police and a suspect from a shooting that occurred earlier in the day. The shootout occurred on Fields’ porch. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, but not much new information has been publicly released.
Anderson, a mother of three, was shot two times by Deptford Police Sergeant Kevin Clements. Police say Anderson was shot after she refused a command to stop and attempted to run over two officers with her car. Other witnesses to the incident stated that Anderson was driving away from the officers when she was shot and killed. Police allege Anderson and two others were shoplifting from Marshall’s and that this led to the fatal interaction.
Shukri Ali
Said, 36
April 28, 2018
John Creeks, GA
Police shot and killed Shukri, after responding to a report of a woman with a knife. Shukri’s sister had made the call to 911 after Shukri, who had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had grabbed a knife and exited the family house. Shukri’s sister had stressed to the 911 operator that her sister was mentally ill. Shukri wore a hijab and had heard voices that morning, according to her family.
DeCynthia Clements, 34
March 12, 2018
Elgin, IL
Clements was shot and killed by Lt. Chris Jensen, a supervising officer. Officers had spent over an hour attempting to persuade Clements to come out of her SUV. Clements eventually set her SUV on fire and came out holding a knife. At that point, Jensen shot and killed Clements rather than waiting for another officer to use a taser, even though Jensen had instructed an officer to draw his taser in case it needed to be used. The Cook County State Attorney announced that Jensen would not be prosecuted, and the city of Elgin hired a consulting firm to determine if Jensen violated department protocol. The report found that Jensen followed the department’s policy on the use of deadly force, but did not follow proper procedure when no medical assistance was given to Clements after the shooting. Jensen was reinstated.
Barnes, the mother of two young children and an honors student at Jackson State University, was shot three times by police during a traffic stop. Police allege that Barnes began driving away when the officer who stopped her called for backup and that Barnes then began driving backward toward an officer who was outside of his car. Barnes’ family filed a $10 million lawsuit against Jackson Police Department in federal court and allege that the autopsy results and the police report contradict each other and leave out crucial details. Barnes was shot in the back of the head, back of the neck, and the back.
Geraldine Townsend, 72
January 17, 2018
Tulsa, OK
Townsend was shot and killed by Bartlesville, Oklahoma police officers who were at her home to serve an illegal drug sales warrant for her son. According to the officers at the scene, Townsend came out of a bedroom and fired a BB gun at the officers, hitting two of them with BB pellets.
Sandy
Guardiola, 48
October 4, 2017
Canandaigua, NY
Guardiola was a parole officer who was shot dead while in her bed by an officer who came to her house to perform a welfare check. In a civil rights lawsuit filed by Guardiola’s family, they allege that there was a ten-minute gap between the shooting and when EMTs were called to provide aid to Guardiola, who was still alive at the time. They also allege that Guardiola could not have pointed her service weapon at the sergeant who shot her (as police allege she did), but rather that she was first shot while retrieving her handgun from under her pillow.
Nelson was a nuclear technician for the Navy and was involved in a car crash with her husband, who was in a separate car. Nelson non-fatally shot and wounded him. Police, who had been questioning Nelson when she shot her husband, shot and killed her. The internal review stated that the officers were justified and the department refused to release bodycam footage of the incident.
Charleena called the police to report an attempted burglary at her home. She was shot and killed by officers responding to her call. The officers claimed that upon their arrival to her apartment, Charleena lunged at them with a knife. She was three months pregnant with her fourth child when she was killed. Charleena supposedly had a longstanding history of mental health problems. A King County judge since dismissed civil charges against the two officers involved. In late 2019, more than two years after Charleena’s shooting, a pre-inquest hearing was held to discuss various legal issues to be addressed in the inquest proceedings. The inquest will determine whether the officers complied with department police and their training when Charleena was fatally shot.
Block was sitting on a park bench and was threatening herself with a gun she was holding. Officers attempted to negotiate with Block, but when she began walking, an officer opened fire on Block and killed her. Block was suspected of committing homicide earlier in the day.
Alteria Woods, who was pregnant when she was shot and killed by Indian River County sheriff deputies, was an innocent bystander to a shootout between law enforcement and her boyfriend and his father. Police allege that Woods’ boyfriend was using her as a human shield when she was shot and killed. Woods was shot ten times, including in the head and chest. No charges were brought against the three deputies, all members of a SWAT team, who shot Woods. Woods’ boyfriend Andrew Coffee IV was charged with her death.
Rankins was shot and killed by Austin Police Officer Benjamin Rogers after a car chase in which she is alleged to have attempted to hit Rogers with her car. Rogers shot Rankins three times after she emerged from the car holding a knife, but a transcript from after the shooting indicated that Rogers had already pulled his gun before ever seeing Rankins come out of the car with a knife. Rankins suffered from mental illness and had recently graduated summa cum laude from Huston-Tillotson University.
Deborah was fatally shot by NYPD in her home in the Bronx. According to the police, she was armed with first a pair of scissors and then a baseball bat, but according to the EMT, she had put down the scissors and never picked up a baseball bat. A neighbor called 911 and reported that Deborah was erratic (police had been called to her apartment before). Deborah had schizophrenia. Her shooting was said to recall the death of Eleanor Bumpers.
On the morning of Aug. 1, officers with the Baltimore County Police Department arrived at the Randallstown apartment of Korryn Gaines to serve bench warrants on her and her fiance, Kareem Courtney. Earlier, Korryn had been stopped for a traffic violation and was later charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and littering. She took to social media stating that officers threatened her with violence and kept her in isolation. Korryn did not appear later in court, in accordance with the violation. After a standoff that lasted about six hours, Gaines was dead from police gunfire. Her five-year-old son was also shot but fortunately survived.
Sgt. Justin Erb, 45, was identified as the officer who fired a single shot May 19 that killed 29-year-old Jessica Williams. Police officials said Erb and another officer, who has not been identified, suspected Williams of driving a stolen car. Police have said little about what led to the shooting. Before his resignation, Suhr said Williams had driven off as Erb and the officer tried to question her but that she crashed into a utility truck a short distance away. At some point, Erb fired into the vehicle, killing her. Police said at the time that no weapon had been found on Williams but that they still planned to search the car. They have not said what the results of that search were.
Deresha was shot and killed by Acting Sgt. Vernon Brown. Deputies say that Deresha was a suspect in a robbery, and that upon fleeing she and another man exchanged gunfire with another homeowner. They also claim Deresha had a handgun.
Laronda was fatally shot twice in the chest by Gallatin Police Officer James Spray. According to investigators, members of the city housing authority and county Deputy Gary Pickard had gone to Laronda’s home to serve her with an eviction notice, when she allegedly became combative and injured Pickard in the abdomen with an ax. Laronda’s daughter said her mother was loving. She said that in addition to being medicated for bipolar disorder, her mother was unemployed and lived on disability payments.
While the investigators were waiting for a suspected drug dealer to arrive in the parking lot, they saw two men engaged in a verbal argument. While they were arguing, Beaty exited a nearby car and approached one of the men while holding a gun. The argument continued until police intervened, ordering Beaty to the ground. She did not comply, instead turning toward the approaching officers and pointing the gun in their direction. Shots were fired at approximately 1:18 a.m. Officers attempted to render first aid to Beaty but she was declared dead by paramedics at 1:29 a.m. Investigators later discovered the gun she was holding was a replica.
California police officers shot and killed 31-year-old Kisha Michael and her friend Marquintan Sandlin, 32, after initially finding them unconscious and sitting in a stopped car on Manchester Boulevard. Michael was shot 13 times and pronounced dead at the scene, while Sandlin, the driver, was shot eight times and pronounced dead a short time later at a nearby hospital. An autopsy recovered projectiles from at least two and as many as three different types of firearms–a shotgun, handgun and possibly a rifle–from Michael’s body. Grimes says witnesses reported that police fired as many as 100 shots at the pair in the car.
Sahlah Ridgeway, 32, was shot by an officer in front of Kimton Place Apartments around 8:30 p.m. Fowler said Ridgeway was armed with a sawed-off shotgun when she was confronted by police. When she refused to drop the weapon, an officer shot her, Fowler said. Her mother has said she believed her daughter had bipolar disorder.
Gynnya McMillen was staying at her mother’s apartment complex when the two started to argue. Around 1:30 a.m., Michelle called 911 to complain that her daughter had gotten physical and hit her. Police officers soon arrived at the apartment, arrested Gynnya for a domestic-violence related offense, and took her to Lincoln Village Juvenile Treatment and Detention Center, a troubled state-run facility 70 miles away. Approximately 28 hours later, Gynnya was found dead in the cell where she’d been detained. Medical examiners later determined that Gynnya had a previously undiagnosed heart condition and died of a cardiac arrhythmia.
Bettie Jones, 55, as well as 19-year-old neighbor Quintonio LeGrier, were fatally shot by Officer Robert Rialmo during a domestic disturbance call a day after Christmas. Bettie was standing in a doorway behind Quintonio and was shot once in the chest at point-blank range. Rialmo had fired eight shots. Nearly four years after Bettie and Quintonio’s shooting, the Police Board finally fired Rialmo.
Barbara Dawson went to Calhoun Liberty Hospital in Blountstown, Florida, to seek treatment for breathing problems. Police were called to the emergency room when Dawson, who had been discharged by physicians, refused to leave. She was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing and was escorted out of the hospital in handcuffs. Dawson then collapsed as she arrived at the officer’s car. Dawson was readmitted to the emergency room, where she was pronounced dead an hour later. The Florida state medical examiner ruled on Wednesday that she died from natural causes due to a blood clot in her lung. The blood clot was due to Dawson being excessively overweight, officials said.
Marquesha was shot by police in a parking lot outside a liquor store early in the morning. Police claimed that Marquesha fired at them first, after they responded to an alleged armed robbery at a liquor store involving her and another man. Her family disputed that the five-foot Marquesha would rob the store or shoot at police. On October 31, 2016, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office completed its investigation of the five police officers involved and concluded that there was “insufficient evidence” to pursue federal civil rights charges or D.C. charges against them.
The incident began Sept. 5, 2015, when four SWAT officers tried to arrest Angelo Perry, who was in Kager’s car and was a suspect in four violent crimes that summer. He fired at police first, and the officers returned about 30 shots, killing both her and Perry. Their 4-month-old child was unharmed in the backseat. A jury decided Monday that two Virginia Beach police officers acted with gross negligence when they shot and killed India Kager.
Police say Jones refused to put down a large knife despite orders from officers and instead moved closer to them, which prompted the shooting. According to the investigation, police say Jones fit the description of a robbery suspect at a nearby pharmacy. After a chase into a Baldwin Hills alley, police say Jones moved closer to Ramirez, refusing to drop the knife after being asked to do so.
Raynetta was found dead in a Mount Vernon jail cell two days after she was taken into custody on charges of shoplifting. She was arrested for allegedly stealing from a wholesale food store. Shortly after her arrest, she told authorities that she was suffering from multiple medical problems, including hypertension and issues following bariatric surgery. She was taken to an area hospital and released to authorities the following day. When officers went to retrieve her for a court appearance the next day, she was found unresponsive in her cell.
Ralkina allegedly went to a Save-a-Lot and started smashing her ex-husband’s car with a tire iron. According to the police, she allegedly turned on her ex and struck him on the arm, got into her vehicle, and drove away with her twelve-year-old daughter in the back. She was arrested on charges of assault, domestic violence, endangering a child and criminal mischief and taken to jail. After being booked, Ralkina was reportedly treated for several medical conditions. She had been given a prescription medication at the jail, but on Saturday evening it was reportedly noted that Ralkina appeared to be lethargic so she was taken to a hospital. She was returned to prison the same day around 10:40 pm. At 12:45 am, paramedics checked her vitals and reported everything as normal. Around 7:30 am on Sunday, she was found unresponsive in her cell bed.
Joyce died of complications from gastroenteritis, mainly dehydration, at the Charleston County Detention Center in South Carolina after allegedly being held for 27 hours without adequate medical treatment. Curnell was suffering from nausea and vomiting when she arrived at Roper St. Francis Hospital. Curnell needed treatment for alcohol abuse and due to limited treatment availability, she was remanded to police custody. Shortly before 5:00 p.m. on the day after she was taken into custody, she was found “unresponsive in her bed,” according to the sheriff's office.
Officials with the Homewood City Jail said Kindra Darnell Chapman was processed on Tuesday, July 14, at 6:22 p.m., following an arrest for first-degree robbery. Police say Chapman, 18, stole a cell phone from another individual on the street. Chapman was last seen alive at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when staff conducted an initial welfare check. At 7:50 p.m., jailers returned to find Chapman unresponsive. Authorities say she hanged herself. She was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Sandra Bland was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. Sandra had recently returned to the area to begin a new job. Cell phone footage that Sandra had captured of the traffic stop would not be publicly released until years later.
Stranded on the New Jersey Turnpike past midnight after their SUV broke down, a Brooklyn man and Queens woman walking in the roadway were struck and killed by a police cruiser Wednesday, state troopers said. Officer Arsenio Pecora of Bergen County's Washington Township Police Department was driving north on the turnpike's eastern spur when he plowed into Jason Champion and Nuwnah LaRoche just after 1 a.m., officials said.
Sheneque
Proctor, 18
November 1, 2014
Bessemer, AL
Eighteen-year-old Sheneque Proctor was arrested for disorderly conduct, and was taken to the Bessemer City Jail. When Proctor—who suffered from asthma—called her mother from the jail she indicated that the police had treated her roughly. She had informed the police that she was ill, but they had ignored her requests for medical attention. She was found dead in her cell the next morning. Her cell was videotaped during this entire period, but the police department has refused to release the footage to her family. The family’s lawyer, Hank Sherrod, told The Guardian that “this young woman was denied medical treatment while being recorded on videotape right before police eyes. The fact that they won’t hand the film over makes us wonder what they have to hide.” Proctor was the mother of an infant boy.
Iretha had been jailed Monday morning for testing positive for multiple drugs during sentencing for a shoplifting charge. She had become upset at the judge saying she was a flight risk, and three deputies reportedly subdued her using a Taser. She was reportedly taken to the jail and booked in, but she did not have a mug shot taken because she was “uncooperative” with deputies. She allegedly complained of chest pains while in a cell by herself at about 6pm and medical staff performed an EKG on her. She was said to have been monitored every 15 minutes until she was found unresponsive just after 7pm. She was then taken by ambulance to the Providence Health Center where she was pronounced dead.