It is hard to know exactly how many die in altercations with the police because there is no accounting system and authorities do not have to report when suspects are killed. However, according to a recent report, black boys and men are 21 times more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement authorities than their white counterparts. Here are 12 known incidents in which police have killed African-Americans since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9.
Akai Gurley
On November 20, Akai Gurley, 28, was entering the dimly-lit stairwell of a Brooklyn building with his girlfriend when he encountered two police officers. One of the officers, a rookie still on probation, fired a shot that hit Gurley's chest. Gurley and his girlfriend attempted to flee by going down the stairs but Gurley soon collapsed and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Gurley was unarmed and police have not yet provided any justification for the shooting, saying preliminary investigation suggests "accidental discharge."
John Crawford
On August 5, police officers in Beavercreek, Ohio, responded to a 911 call from a customer in a Walmart who said someone was waving a gun in the store. Police arrived and confronted John Crawford, 22, who was holding a BB gun that he picked up in the store. According to police, Crawford refused to drop the toy when instructed to do so and the officers opened fire. However, the police department has refused to release security camera footage.
Darrien Hunt
On September 10, Darrien Hunt, 22, was walking down the street in Saratoga Springs, Utah, with a toy sword he bought at a local gift shop. Hunt was wearing a red jacket, leading some to believe that he was dressed as a particular Japanese animation character. Police attempted to stop Hunt and witnesses say they opened fire after Hunt began to run away. According to a police statement, Hunt “brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword, at which time Mr. Hunt was shot.” However, an autopsy showed Hunt was shot in the back.
Christopher Anderson
Christopher Anderson was with his two-year-old child when they were involved in a car accident. Both were transported to a Highland Park, Illinois, hospital where, as hospital staff reported to police, Anderson became irate with the staff and pulled out a gun. Police responded and fatally shot Anderson who has been described as a “family man” and as a “terrific dad.” The police have yet to provide video tapes of the incident as the family has requested, so the specifics are still unknown.
Eric Garner
Eric Garner, 43, was stopped by police for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes in Staten Island, New York. In one of the more widely covered incidents of police brutality — a video of the incident went viral — an officer put Garner in a chokehold. Garner, who it turned out was asthmatic, started gasping and barely managed to utter “I can’t breathe” but the officers did not relent. The use of chokeholds is prohibited by the New York City Police Department and the city medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide.
Ezell Ford
Even as Ferguson was exploding just two days after the death of Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, 25, was killed by police in Los Angeles after he was stopped while walking down the street. Police claim that mentally ill Ford attacked them but a civil lawsuit filed by Ford’s parents accuses the officers of shooting Ford in the back while he was complying with the officers’ order to stop and lie on the ground. A family friend at the scene corroborates that series of events.
Cameron Tillman
On September 24, Cameron Tillman, 14, was shot and killed in Houma, LA, by a sheriff’s deputy responding to reports about several individuals entering an abandoned building carrying weapons. The Terrebone Parish Sheriff's Office claims that a weapon was found near Tillman’s body after the shooting, but Tillman’s brother told reporters that Tillman wasn’t holding anything when he opened the door for the officer who, the brother says, shot him point blank.
Tanesha Anderson
Tanesha Anderson, 37, who had a history of mental illness, had become unruly, according to her family. They called the police to transport her to a psychiatric hospital but the incident ended in Anderson’s death. Family members and police widely differ on what followed. Police say that Anderson went limp as they tried to restrain her, placing her in a police cruiser. Family members say an officer slammed Anderson’s head against the pavement before placing his knee on her back. After Anderson stopped breathing, police took her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Vonderrit Myers Jr.
On October 8, an off-duty police officer in St. Louis who was moonlighting as a security guard saw three men standing on teh street. The officer, who was in uniform, approached them when, he says, the three began to run. The officer chased Vonderrit Myers, 18. Myers allegedly pulled out a gun and fired three shots at the officer before his gun jammed. The officer returned fire, killing Myers. According to an autopsy, Myers was hit eight times, six of them from behind.
Dante Parker
Dante Parker, 36, was chased by police after a reported break-in in Victorville, CA on August 12. Parker was near a bicycle which police say might have been used to escape from the scene of the crime. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, a deputy caught up to Parker but could not subdue him. The officer than used a Taser, electrocuting Parker several times and another deputy arrived to help. They eventually managed to get Parker into a patrol car but when he started breathing heavily, the police took him to a hospital where the father of five later died.
Aura Rosser
Police in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were responding to a domestic disturbance call November 9 when they encountered Aura Rosser, 40. According to police, Rosser charged at them with a knife prompting them to shoot her to death. Family members have called that unlikely, saying she would have stopped at the sight of guns. However, Rosser reportedly had some history with cocaine and theft. Rosser’s boyfriend, Victor Stephens, who had called the police initially, told media Rosser was “walking” towards the police when the shots were fired.
Raupheal Thomas
Police officers responded to reports of two suspicious individuals in Akron, Ohio. According to police, when they approached the men, one of them, Raupheal Thomas, became belligerent and an altercation ensued. Police say Thomas, 29, fired a shot at them and he was killed when they returned fire. A.25 caliber gun was allegedly recovered next to Thomas’ body. However, Thomas’s companion, Jesse Gray, says their car had broken down and they were walking to a friend’s when the police arrived. He also contends that Thomas did not have a gun.
