Chamblee54

For 29 weeks, I ran a series about police killings of citizens. This is the final post, which gives a few statistics, and draws a few conclusions. There was one case that I stumbled onto which stands out . It had a video of a search, with a horror movie ending. I cannot say what a LEO’s job is like. That said, it is clear that something like this could happen every time an officer answers a call.
“On June 20, 2017, (Las Vegas Police) officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. The caller reported hearing screaming and crying coming from an apartment. When officers arrived, they made contact with the victim in her apartment, and she initially told them everything was fine. The officers insisted that she open the security screen so they could confirm she was unharmed. As the victim and her four-year-old son exited the apartment, she told officers there was nobody else in the apartment, and she gave them permission to enter the apartment to confirm this.”
“As the officers searched the apartment, they discovered Pedro Ramirez hiding in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. He was holding a large butcher knife. Officers gave commands for Mr. Ramirez to drop the knife. He ignored the commands and advanced toward the officers. Two officers discharged their Tasers, but they had little effect on Mr. Ramirez. He then charged toward the officers with the knife still in his hand. One officer fired his handgun, striking Mr. Ramirez three times. He fell to the ground and the officer kicked away the knife and attempted to handcuff Mr. Ramirez.”
The video is tough to watch, knowing how this is going to turn out. The officers go into one room, then another, then another. The tension builds with every step. Finally, they go to the final stop, and a man jumps out with a large knife. If the officers had waited half a second to fire, one of them could have been cut. Is this what an officer knows could happen, every time they go into a building? Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.

This is a repost from 2018. Between October 8, 2017, and April 30, 2018, I documented officer related killings in the United States. There were 645 incidents in this time. The report reposted today looks at 35. For all the furor over publicized cases, very few people are interested in the details of most killings. … 35 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: James E. Waters Steven Dalton 203 Nicholas D. O’Brien 204 Erik Dunham 205 Christopher Race 206 Stephen Hudak 207 208 Jose Gomez Burgos 209 Joel Jacobo 210 Robert George 211 Marvin Ray McMillian 212 213 Michael McEntee 214 Amanda Alvarez 215 216 Brandon Kuhlman 217 Ryan L. Smith 219 David Willoughby 220 William Simon 221 Robert Lewis Yates 222 223 Michael Kline 224 Michael R. Reynolds 225 Steven Peters 226 Jesus Delgado 227 Victor Ancira 228 Troy Louis Risinger 229 230 231 232 Dwight Heckman 233 Alkeeta Allena Walker 234 235 David Gardea 236
13 of the victims were white. (204, 205, 206, 216, 217, 219, 221, S. Dalton, 223, 224, 228, 229, 233) 3 of the victims were black. (211, 220, J. Waters) 5 of the victims were latino. (209, 214, 226, 227, 235) 2 of the victims were native american. (222, 232) The race of 12 of the victims is unknown. (203, 207, 208, 210, 212, 213, 215, 225, 230, 231, 234, 236) 2 of the victims were female (214, 233)
13 of the victims fired at an officer. (206, 211, 213, 215, 216, 221, S. Dalton, 224, 226, J. Waters, 230, 232, 235) 16 of the victims displayed a weapon. (204, 205, 207, 208, 209, 217, 219, 220, 222, 225, 227, 228, 229, 233, 234, 236) 4 of the victims were suicidal (207, 217, 227, 234) A taser was used on 4 victims (S. Dalton, 225, 227, 233) 3 of the victims died without a shot being fired. (203, 210, 212)
Officer Christopher Ryan Morton was killed in Clinton, Missouri, on March 6. “The Missouri Highway Patrol has identified the Clinton Police Officer killed in the line of duty last night as 30-year-old Officer Christopher Ryan Morton … Sgt. Bill Lowe, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, provided an update: “At approximately 9:20 this evening, the Clinton County 911 center received a 911 call from a residence. There were two women screaming in the background … they (the call center) notified Clinton police department and they had officers respond to that residence.” When the three officers arrived, says Lowe, the suspect opened fire from inside the residence. “They (the officers) ended up going inside the residence in an attempt to apprehend the suspect. At that point in time, the suspect shot and killed one of the Clinton police officers and wounded two other officers,” he says. The suspect was still in the residence. According to Lowe, the Troop A SWAT team came up with a plan. “At approximately ten after midnight,” he says, “the Troop A SWAT Team entered the residence and found the suspect deceased.” It’s unclear how the suspect died.” “Clinton Police Officer Ryan Morton was killed Tuesday night while responding to the street address he was told to go to — but the dispatch center had mistakenly sent him to the wrong city. He should have been dispatched to an address in Windsor, 25 miles away, where the call originated. The apparent mistake at the dispatch center is being investigated, said Sgt. Bill Lowe, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol … the house has five cameras and two motion detectors on its roof. Shields said at the press conference the person living at the house, Tammy Widger, has been charged with possession of meth with the intent to distribute and with keeping and maintaining a public nuisance. Those charges were filed after the shootings, Shields said, after drugs were found in the house.” (James E. Waters)
219 David Willoughby was killed in Georgia. “A man in Georgia was shot and killed late Monday after he pointed a pellet gun at sheriff’s deputies and disobeyed commands to drop the weapon, the GBI said. Authorities told WSB they did not learn what David Willoughby, 33, was pointing at them until after the deadly shooting, which occurred about 11 p.m. near Temple. GBI spokesman Chris DeMarco told WSB the incident started with a call about a suspicious person with a gun in someone’s backyard. Deputies found Willoughby hiding in a wooded area. He pointed the pellet gun at them, and the deputies ordered Willoughby to drop it. … He refused, prompting deputies to open fire.” (219)
“A 25-year-old West Allis man was killed late Thursday in Milwaukee when his vehicle struck a tree during a police pursuit, the Greenfield Police Department said in a news release. The crash occurred after a Greenfield officer used a “pursuit intervention technique,” the department said. It did not elaborate on what that technique was. The officer, who is 29 with five years of experience, attempted to the stop the man’s vehicle, which was speeding, just before 11:40 p.m. Thursday. The department said “the suspect vehicle fled from the officer” and the officer used the technique. The man’s vehicle left the roadway in the 3200 block of S. 25th St. and hit the tree.” (203)
“The man who died after being shot by a probation officer has been identified as 29-year-old Joel Jacobo. He was shot on Thursday outside the Santa Cruz Apartments at Ajo Way and I-10. Three probation officers had approached Jacobo to serve him a warrant for a probation violation. One of the men saw that Jacobo had a gun and fired his weapon. Jacobo was on probation for trafficking in stolen property. The investigation continues.” (209)
“A pedestrian died Friday night after being hit by a Newark police patrol car, according to the Delaware State Police. The officer was driving east on East Chestnut Hill Road (Del. 4) headed toward the intersection of South Chapel Street about 9:40 p.m. when a pedestrian stepped into the roadway near the entrance to the Robscott Manor development, said Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe, a state police spokeswoman. State police said the front of the officer’s marked Chevrolet Caprice struck the pedestrian, sending him into the front windshield of the vehicle. The 40-year-old pedestrian, who state police said was wearing dark-colored clothing, was pronounced dead at the scene.” (210)
“Police were trying to arrest a suspect wanted for a shooting that happened in January. According to police, Marvin Ray McMillian barricaded himself inside a home on Cleveland Avenue, refusing to come out. Authorities say Gulfport SWAT officers and negotiator units tried for four hours to end the stand-off. After McMillian fired shots at officers, they returned the gunfire, striking him. He died from his injuries at the scene of the shooting. No officers were injured.” (211)
“Officers in Santa Ana late Friday fatally shot a man wanted for violating terms of his probation, authorities said. Garden Grove police said the 31-year-old man was wanted for a “no bail” warrant for violating terms of his post-release community supervision. Investigators told KTLA that officers followed the suspect for about 6 or 7 miles before approaching him in his vehicle at the parking lot of the 7-11 store on 1700 E. Dyer Road at around 11:30 p.m. An altercation ensued and Garden Grove police shot the man multiple times, according to a statement from the agency.” (212)
“38-year-old Amanda Alvarez struck a resident of the 4700 block of West Camino Tierra with a two-by-four at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday. Deputies found the female in a trailer. She was shot “shortly after” by Deputy Samuel Herrera … The department on Tuesday also confirmed that the woman had used a spray intended for use on bears to fend off the deputies. The spray is a form of Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray, officials said. … Multiple deputies were treated for chemical burns and released, police said. Alvarez had an extensive criminal history, including numerous contacts with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the agency said Tuesday. At the time of the shooting, Alvarez had an active felony warrant out for her arrest. She also was involved in an attempted stabbing of a deputy using an arrow a week before, officials said.” (214)
“After an off-duty police officer shot and killed an armed man who was trying to rob a Brooklyn gas station Monday night, police are looking for a second suspect. … The officer was in his private car at Gasgo on Remsen Avenue and Avenue D in Canarsie at about 10:35 p.m., Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said. As the station attendant was pumping gas into the officer’s car, a man, armed with a gun, entered the booth and demanded money from another station worker, Harrison said. A second man, also armed with a gun, stood outside the booth and instructed the off-duty officer and the attendant not to move. The officer identified himself as a cop and told the men to stop. Both suspects turned toward the officer with their guns in their hands. The officer fired at one of the suspects, 19-year-old William Simon, hitting him in the torso. The second suspect fled, police said.” (220)
“Mr. Yates, according to the paperwork in the clerk’s office, owned the trailer but rented the lot in the trailer park. So there were several complaints that the owner of the trailer park had and once Mr. Yates had not complied with correcting those, then the owner of that lot began the process of having Mr. Yates evicted,” said Baldwin County District Attorney Bob Wilters. Authorities say the complaints against Yates ranged from not mowing the grass, not keeping shrubbery trimmed, an abandoned vehicle and a dissatisfaction with the overall upkeep of the outside of the trailer. Formal eviction paperwork was filed in 2017 and a number of attempts to serve him followed. According to the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit, Yates “refused to come to the door” when BCSO deputies tried to serve him in the past. Deputies responded Monday with an order from a judge allowing them to move Yates’ trailer. What happened next is under investigation, however, what we do know is a standoff, SWAT Team negotiations and a shootout followed.” (221)
“The standoff started around 7 p.m. Monday in Oil Springs on Ky. 825, according to EKB News. A man — later identified as Steven Dalton in an interview of police by EKB News — was holding a Bible, shouting at the sky and became combative with a deputy after the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department arrived, WKYT reported. A deputy used a Taser to try to detain Dalton but that failed, according to WSIP. Dalton ran and locked himself inside his home, which is when Kentucky State Police arrived to join deputies, EKB News reported. Both deputies heard gunshots coming from inside the residence, WSIP reported. Family members told the sheriff that Dalton had several firearms, including an assault rifle, in the house, WSIP said. A shootout began around 11 p.m. when Dalton pointed a gun out the door, shooting at the trooper’s cruisers before the troopers returned fire, EKB News said. Police told EKB News that 200 rounds were fired between the two sides in a 15-second span. No officers were hit, but they didn’t hear from the suspect for a couple of hours after the shots were fired, according to EKB News. KSP called for backup from its Special Response Team, which sent a robot into the home and found Dalton’s body at around 2:30 a.m., WKYT reported. It’s too early to know if he shot himself or if he was shot by police, WKYT said.” (Steven Dalton)
“Indiana State Police say officers from the North Manchester Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a truck just before 6 p.m. The truck’s driver, Michael Kline, 40, stopped the truck in the parking lot of a business at 1601 State Road 114. Preliminary evidence indicates that at some point during that traffic stop there was an incident that led to an officer firing shots at Kline. It is not clear what that incident was, who fired the shots or how many were fired.” (223)
“A 46-year-old man with a pickax was killed after being shot by police in East Austin early Wednesday, Chief Brian Manley said. Officers received a call at 4:18 a.m. in which the caller claimed he had killed his father and brother at a home in the 4800 block of Tanney Street, Manley said. Several officers arrived at the scene at 4:23 a.m. and made contact with the caller in the street, Manley said. According to the chief, police video shows officers issuing commands to the man to “drop the weapon” and “Please drop the pickax.” After about 10 minutes of negotiating with the man and issuing multiple commands to disarm, officers then approached the man, Manley said. The chief said officers first used less lethal rounds of impact munitions as the man approached the house, but he blocked them with a chair in his hand. Officers also used a stun gun, Manley said. When the man raised his pickax against the approaching officers, the officers fired at the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the chief said. … He added that it appeared that the man had left a suicide note. …the man’s family … identified him as Victor Ancira. “He was a loving, caring person. He didn’t bother no one,” said Ancira’s niece, 21-year-old Samantha Chavez. “He stayed inside, he was sick. He had a disability … we are all hurt right now.” “Sylvia Ancira … said her brother was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia, she worried that he may have forgotten to take his medications. Sylvia said police had been called to their address before and she wondered why things escalated to the point that officers felt they had to shoot her brother.” (227)
“On March 8, 2018, at about 5:35 PM, officers from the Riverside Police Department were conducting an investigation for a wanted suspect within the 9900 block of Willowbrook Road, Jurupa Valley. As the officers encountered the suspect an officer involved shooting occurred. Life-saving measures were performed, but the suspect succumbed to his injuries.” (231)
“At 11:25 p.m. Thursday, Pottstown Police responded to a wellness check for a suicidal man just a block from the police station at 40 E. High St., according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Police were informed that the man had posted photos online of himself holding a gun to his head and threatening to harm himself. When police arrived, officers encountered the armed man in the parking lot and confronted him. At that time, an officer discharged his firearm and struck the man. The man was then transported via medical helicopter to Reading Hospital Trauma Center in West Reading, where he was later pronounced dead. A BB/pellet gun was recovered near the suspect, according to the district attorney’s office.” (234)
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.

This is a repost from December 3, 2017. For 29 weeks, I published a post about people killed by police. 645 incidents were considered, with key statistics broken down in the summary. The series got very little attention. For all the hoopla certain cases generate, most people are not interested in the day to day grind. The 22 people shown below are remembered only by their families.
22 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 1083 1084 Ronald O. Hunt 1085 William Freddy Carter Jr 1086 Juan Luis Castro 1087 Daniel Navarro 1088 Jacob L. Baumgart 1089 Christian Chavez 1090 Bijan C. Ghaisar 1091 Christopher Escobedo 1092 Robert Claude Smith 1093 Lucas William Stone 1094 James C. Danforth 1095 1096 1097 Aquoness Cathery 1098 Quinton Shane Lee 1099 1100 1101 Rufus Cedric Baker 1102 Keita O’Neil 1103 Mario Guevara 1104 Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
7 of the victims were white. (1085, 1088, 1090, 1092, 1093, 1094, 1103) 2 of the victims were black. (1097, 1101) 4 of the victims were latino. (1086, 1087, 1089, 1096) The race of 9 victims is unknown. (1083, 1084, 1091, 1095, 1098, 1099, 1100, 1102,1104)
9 of the victims fired at a police officer. (1085, 1086, 1088, 1089, 1091, 1092, 1093, 1094, 1098) 5 of the victims displayed a weapon. (1083, 1084, 1100, 1103, 1104) 2 of the victims were involved in a domestic dispute. (1085, 1094) 1098 Quinton Shane Lee may have been suicidal. 1101 Rufus Cedric Baker was killed in a Walmart parking lot. 10 of the cases are considered noteworthy.
“Off-duty officer shoots, kills man who brandished gun at Lenexa Costco An off-duty police officer shot and killed a man who brandished a gun inside a Costco Wholesale store on Sunday. Police got a call about 11 a.m. about a man who was brandishing a firearm at the store. Witnesses said that the man was yelling and pointing a gun. When officers arrived, they found that the man had been shot by someone inside the store and he was pronounced dead. They then learned that an off-duty police officer, who was shopping there, engaged the man inside the store and fatally shot him. …. “You could hear from the front of the store,” one woman said. “A bunch of people were yelling, ‘Everybody get down! Everybody get to the back of the store!'” “We just kind of ran through the neighborhoods to see how far away we could get from the building,” she said. “I just really hope and pray that things get better across the country.” ~ Miguel Robles, a Costco employee, said, “I saw a gentleman standing at the door yelling at everybody. It looked like a .45 revolver in his hand. I just turned around and I started clearing people away from the door and pushing people away. I saw kids and told everybody to grab their kids and keep going, keep going, keep going.” ~ Costco employee Ryan Vacca said, “It was this weird moment for me where I could hear and sense a lot of commotion going on, but it wasn’t really registering with me. I was just kind of watching it ensue.” Vacca said the man was “yelling something about the fire marshal and the doors. It sounded like gibberish.” ~ Bill Payne was shopping with his friend when the incident happened. He said, “I was looking at the TVs and somebody hollered, ‘Man coming in with a gun!’ We ran towards the back and out the side door,” he said, “and when I got to the back, I counted 8 shots. It’s scary.” … Employees have returned to the store, which is expected to reopen on Monday. Armed man in Costco left behind little family, was living in his long-haul truck The screaming man with a gun who terrorized fleeing customers in a Lenexa Costco on Sunday morning was a tractor-trailer driver who, like many long-haul truckers, apparently lived in the cab of his truck. Ronald O. Hunt, 58, left his truck for the last time in the Costco parking lot when — for reasons still unknown to investigators — he walked menacingly into the store where he eventually was gunned down inside by an off-duty lawman.” (1084)
Man Holding Baby Daughter Hostage During Standoff in Covina Is Fatally Shot by Police; Family Questions Use of Force “The nearly 7-hour-long ordeal began about 3 p.m. Sunday when the man, identified by family members as 22-year-old Daniel Navarro, was sitting in a car with his girlfriend and 7-month-old daughter in the 700 block of North Glendora Avenue. The couple apparently got into some sort of argument, prompting a response from the Covina Police Department. At some point, the woman got out of the car but Navarro refused to exit. Authorities said the man in the vehicle made threatening statements and was armed with a knife. … “He picks the baby up and … sometimes he’ll put the baby in front of him to kind of like block the police,” said Jean Claisse. “[The police] were saying ‘We want to help you ‘We want to help you’. And he was saying some bad words back to them.” … Officers said they feared for the girl’s safety because of the man’s statements and devised a plan to rescue her, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release Monday. A loud explosion occurred at the front of the vehicle and officers immediately rushed in and pulled Navarro out. Several shots were fired as Navarro was being dragged out of the vehicle. video (1087)
“On Monday November 27, 2017, Bijan C. Ghaisar died after being on life support​ for 10 days. Authorities pursued his Jeep sport-utility vehicle on the evening of November 17, 2017, because it had been involved in a hit-and-run​ accident on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Alexandria, Virginia​. The pursuit ended in the Fort Hunt area of Fairfax County. Ghaisar was then shot by U.S. Park Police after a short chase. His family stated that he had been shot three times in the head and suffered irreversible brain damage​…. no weapons were found in his vehicle.” (1090)
Bicyclist killed by deputy cruiser responding to call “POMPANO BEACH, FL. Authorities say a bicyclist has died following a collision with a Florida deputy’s patrol car. Broward Sheriff’s Office officials say the crash happened Tuesday afternoon in Pompano Beach. The bicyclist, who wasn’t immediately named, died at the scene. Authorities say the deputy was responding to a call but wasn’t using lights or sirens when the victim was struck.” (1095)
Statement by … U.S. Border Patrol “A U.S. Border Patrol agent discharged his service issued firearm, striking an assaultive male subject at approximately 11:30 a.m. (MST) on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in a remote area of the Baboquivari Mountain Range west of Three Points, Arizona. The assaultive subject later died as a result of his wounds. Two agents were following a group of suspected illegal aliens through a rugged and remote mountainous area in response to a sensor activation. Both agents encountered the group of men 21 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. One of the subjects attacked an agent attempting to arrest him and gained control of the agent’s weapon. The other agent shot the subject in response. One agent suffered non-life threating injuries during the assault and was later transported to a Tucson hospital for treatment. Agents arrested three other members of the group – all adult male Guatemalan nationals – for immigration violations.” (1096)
Man dies after shot by Chicago police in Washington Park neighborhood “A South Side man died after he was shot by police while armed with a semi-automatic pistol in the Washington Park neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Officers responded to a call of shots fired around 2:15 p.m. in the 6100 block of South King Drive and encountered Aquoness Cathery, 24, holding a handgun, according to Chicago Deputy Police Chief Kevin Ryan. “At one point the officers fired and shot the offender, who was then taken into custody,” … Police said they recovered a gun but do not believe Cathery fired it at officers. … Witnesses said the shooting occurred after a police pursuit ended with an Audi crashing at 63rd Street and Vernon Avenue. Police would not comment. The officers were wearing body cameras, and the video will be reviewed as part of the investigation. The officers have been placed on a 30-day administrative leave, Ryan said.” (video) (1097)
Undercover Police Fatally Shoot Robbery Suspect in North Hollywood: LAPD “A suspected male robber was dead after being shot by undercover police in North Hollywood late Thursday afternoon, authorities said. Undercover Los Angeles Police Department officers were investigating a series of robberies in the area when they spotted the suspect at around 4:25 p.m. on the 12000 block of Vose Street, according to Lt. Chris Ramirez. Ramirez said the man jumped into a vehicle and attempted to flee. The suspect got out of the car after a short chase, at which point officers started shooting, Ramirez said. Asked whether the suspect knew the people who had their guns drawn at him were police, Ramirez said, “Usually our detectives always identify themselves as police officers.” Witnesses reported hearing around 10 gunshots with officers asking the suspect to show his hands. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died of gunshot wounds, according to police. It’s unclear what prompted officers to start shooting and whether the suspect was carrying a weapon. Authorities have not identified the suspect.” (1099)
Hendersonville police identify suspect, officer in fatal Walmart shooting ” Police have identified the suspect as Rufus Cedric Baker, a 32-year-old man from Buncombe County. … He said that when the officer tried to arrest Baker, whom Blake said was attempting to sell drugs, Baker tried to escape. The officer involved in the shooting said Baker was inside Baker’s car, and appeared to be reaching for a weapon in his waistband. The chief says officers at the scene recovered 14 bags of crystal meth and the suspect’s gun. Baker is a convicted felon with habitual felon status, whose criminal record includes theft, fraud, eluding arrest, robbery, breaking and entering, and receiving and possessing of stolen goods. He was released this year after serving five years in prison for various offenses. …The official statement from Chief Blake is below: Around 11 p.m. last night, Hendersonville Police Department responded to the scene of an undercover drug investigation at the Walmart Super Center, shot a suspect who was being placed under arrest and attempted to escape. The officer involved reported that the suspect appeared to be reaching for a weapon in his waistband.” (1101)
SF cop fatally shoots man who carjacked state lottery van “A San Francisco police officer shot and killed a suspected carjacker who had injured a state lottery worker, stole her minivan and led police on a chase into a public housing complex in the city’s Bayview neighborhood on Friday, officials said. … The episode began about 10:30 a.m. when police responded to reports that the driver of a California State Lottery van was carjacked in the 1800 block of 23rd Street in Potrero Hill, said Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a San Francisco police spokesman. … Witnesses told police a gold-colored sport utility vehicle drove away from the scene, and officers spotted both the van and the SUV “traveling together down the streets of the Bayview district,” Andraychak said. Police officers stopped the gold-colored SUV at Gilman Avenue and Ingalls Street. (37.7188, -122.388) The men in the vehicle were detained without incident. … additional officers chased the white lottery van into the housing complex to Griffith Street and Fitzgerald Avenue, police said. The driver hit a fence and got out of the van, at which point at least one officer opened fire, police said. It was not immediately clear whether the man was armed. A patrol car stopped behind the lottery van had a shattered front passenger-side window, but police did not say how it was broken. The suspected carjacker, identified by the city medical examiner’s office as 42-year-old Keita O’Neil, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.” (1102)

Unarmed Black people killed by police is a hot button issue. The Washington Post maintains a database of police killings. In 2022, 7 unarmed Black men have been killed by police. This is out of a total of 1,091 police homicides, with 26 involving an unarmed person. This breaks down to White 4, Black 7, Hispanic 2, Other 1, Unknown 12. Here are the 7 unarmed Black men:
Dyonta Quarles, January 30, Crofton MD
Daniel Patrick Knight, February 19, Winter Park FL
Patrick Lyoya, April 4, Grand Rapids MI
Jayland Walker, June 27, Akron OH
Kyle Dail, July 27, Dallas TX
Donovan Lewis, August 30, Columbus OH
Maalik Roquemore, September 5, Cleveland OH
Jayland Walker and Kyle Dail appear to have been armed. “During that struggle, Dail pulled a handgun from his front pants pocket and raised it in the air in front of Hoffman’s face, according to the video. After Dail took out the handgun, Hoffman fired his weapon, hitting the suspect. When reviewing store surveillance cameras and the officers’ body-worn cameras, detectives saw the suspect remove the handgun from his pocket.”
“A Black man shot and killed by Akron police officers in a hail of bullets following a vehicle and foot pursuit was unarmed at the time of the shooting, but a shot appeared to have come from the vehicle during the pursuit, and officers said they feared he was preparing to fire when they discharged their weapons, authorities said. … Police said a few minutes later the car slowed and Walker emerged from the still-moving vehicle wearing a ski mask and fled on foot. A handgun, a loaded magazine and a wedding ring were found on the seat and a casing consistent with the weapon was later found at the point where officers believed a shot came from the vehicle.”
“A former Grand Rapids police officer … Chris Schurr, 31, is charged with second-degree murder for the April 4 killing of Patrick Lyoya, 26. … Schurr’s defense team is arguing he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Lyoya following a traffic stop and struggle over Schurr’s Taser and that he was justified in shooting Lyoya under the “fleeing felon” common law — saying Lyoya became a felon when he attempted to run away. In charging Schurr with second-degree murder, the prosecutor said the shooting could not be justified by self-defense.”
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Similar reports: 2020 2021.

For 29 weeks, I ran a series about police killings of citizens. This is the final post, which gives a few statistics, and draws a few conclusions. There was one case that I stumbled onto which stands out . It had a video of a search, with a horror movie ending. I cannot say what a LEO’s job is like. That said, it is clear that something like this could happen every time an officer answers a call.
“On June 20, 2017, (Las Vegas Police) officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. The caller reported hearing screaming and crying coming from an apartment. When officers arrived, they made contact with the victim in her apartment, and she initially told them everything was fine. The officers insisted that she open the security screen so they could confirm she was unharmed. As the victim and her four-year-old son exited the apartment, she told officers there was nobody else in the apartment, and she gave them permission to enter the apartment to confirm this.”
“As the officers searched the apartment, they discovered Pedro Ramirez hiding in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. He was holding a large butcher knife. Officers gave commands for Mr. Ramirez to drop the knife. He ignored the commands and advanced toward the officers. Two officers discharged their Tasers, but they had little effect on Mr. Ramirez. He then charged toward the officers with the knife still in his hand. One officer fired his handgun, striking Mr. Ramirez three times. He fell to the ground and the officer kicked away the knife and attempted to handcuff Mr. Ramirez.”
The video is tough to watch, knowing how this is going to turn out. The officers go into one room, then another, then another. The tension builds with every step. Finally, they go to the final stop, and a man jumps out with a large knife. If the officers had waited half a second to fire, one of them could have been cut. Is this what an officer knows could happen, every time they go into a building? Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.