List of cases of police brutality by date

Last updated

This list compiles incidents alleged or proved to be due to police brutality that attracted significant media or historical attention. Many cases are alleged to be of brutality; some cases are more than allegations, with official reports concluding that a crime was committed by police, with some criminal convictions for offences such as grievous bodily harm, planting evidence and wrongful arrest.

Contents

Before 1990

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2019

From 2020

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Ulster Constabulary</span> Police force of Northern Ireland (1922–2001)

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) following the partition of Ireland. At its peak the force had around 8,500 officers, with a further 4,500 who were members of the RUC Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milltown Cemetery attack</span> Terrorist murders incident in Northern Ireland (1988)

The Milltown Cemetery attack took place on 16 March 1988 at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the large funeral of three Provisional IRA members killed in Gibraltar, an Ulster Defence Association (UDA) member, Michael Stone, attacked the mourners with hand grenades and pistols. He had learned there would be no police or armed IRA members at the cemetery. As Stone then ran towards the nearby motorway, a large crowd chased him and he continued shooting and throwing grenades. Some of the crowd caught Stone and beat him, but he was rescued by the police and arrested. Three people were killed and more than 60 wounded.

During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, British security forces were accused by some of operating a "shoot-to-kill" policy, under which suspected paramilitary members were killed without an attempt being made to arrest them. This alleged policy was claimed to be most frequently directed against suspected members of Irish republican paramilitary organisations, such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). According to a 1985 inquiry by a team of international lawyers titled Shoot to Kill?, undercover security force units were "trained to shoot to kill even where killing is not legally justifiable and where alternative tactics could and should be used." The British government, including the Northern Ireland Office, consistently denied that there was ever a "shoot-to-kill" policy, stating that "like everyone else, the security forces must obey the law and are answerable to the courts for their actions."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical Enquiries Team</span> Sub-unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland

The Historical Enquiries Team was a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles, specifically between 1968 and 1998. It was wound up in September 2014, when the PSNI restructured following budget cuts.

The Troubles in Armagh recounts incidents during The Troubles in Armagh City, County Armagh, Northern Ireland; the violence was substantial enough for a stretch of road on the outskirts of the city to be referred to by one RUC officer as "Murder Mile". Over the course of the Troubles, although mainly concentrated in the years from 1969 until 1994, the small city of around 15,000 people, including some outlying areas, saw 86 deaths, including those of a number of people from the city who lost their lives elsewhere in Troubles-related incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Northern Ireland riots</span> Sectarian riots starting the Troubles

During 12–16 August 1969, there was an outbreak of political and sectarian violence throughout Northern Ireland, which is often seen as the beginning of the thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising out of the Northern Ireland civil rights campaign, which demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics and Irish nationalists. Civil rights marches had been attacked by Protestant loyalists, and protesters often clashed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the overwhelmingly Protestant police force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Nelson (Northern Irish loyalist)</span> Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary member (1949 – 2003)

Brian Nelson was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary member during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. He was an intelligence chief of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), and also a clandestine agent for the British Army's Force Research Unit during the conflict.

Colin Duffy is an Irish republican, described by the BBC as the most recognisable name and face among dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. He was cleared of murder charges in three court cases involving police and army killings.

<i>Shoot to Kill</i> (1990 film) 1990 four-hour drama documentary directed by Peter Kosminsky

Shoot to Kill is a four-hour drama documentary reconstruction of the events that led to the 1984–86 Stalker Inquiry into the shooting of six terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland in 1982 by a specialist unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), allegedly without warning ; the organised fabrication of false accounts of the events; and the difficulties created for the inquiry team in their investigation.

John Oliver Weir is an Ulster loyalist born and raised in the Republic of Ireland. He served as an officer in Northern Ireland's Royal Ulster Constabulary's (RUC) Special Patrol Group (SPG), and was a volunteer in the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). As a member of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade led by Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, Weir was a part of the Glenanne gang, a group of loyalist extremists that carried out sectarian attacks mainly in the County Armagh area in the mid-1970s.

Akai Gurley, a 28-year-old black man, was fatally shot on November 20, 2014, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, by a New York City Police Department officer. Two police officers, patrolling stairwells in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)'s Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, entered a pitch-dark, unlit stairwell. Officer Peter Liang, 27, had his firearm drawn. Gurley and his girlfriend entered the seventh-floor stairwell, fourteen steps below them. Liang fired his weapon; the shot ricocheted off a wall and fatally struck Gurley in the chest. A jury convicted Liang of manslaughter, which a court later reduced to criminally negligent homicide.

Rekia Boyd was a 22-year-old Black American woman who was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois by Dante Servin, an off-duty Hispanic Chicago police detective, on March 21, 2012.

The shooting deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, two Black American individuals, occurred in East Cleveland, Ohio on November 29, 2012, at the conclusion of a 22-minute police chase which started in downtown Cleveland, when police erroneously claimed shots were fired at them as Russell and Williams drove by a squad car; the cause of the shots was their vehicle's exhaust pipe backfiring.

The killing of William L. Chapman II, a black 18-year-old, occurred on April 22, 2015, in Portsmouth, Virginia, when Chapman was shot and killed in a Wal-Mart parking lot by Portsmouth Police Officer Stephen D. Rankin. Rankin had been responding to a report of suspected shoplifting and engaged in a physical struggle with Chapman, who instigated the altercation while trying to arrest him. The shooting occurred approximately four years after the killing of Kirill Denyakin, who died after being shot by Rankin in 2011.

On April 29, 2017, Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old African-American boy, was murdered by police officer Roy Oliver in Balch Springs, Texas, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Edwards was shot in the back of the head while riding in the front passenger's seat of a vehicle driving away from officers that attempted to stop it. He was unarmed during the encounter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Antwon Rose Jr.</span> 2018 fatal police shooting in Pennsylvania

Antwon Rose II was a 17-year-old African-American who was fatally shot in East Pittsburgh on June 19, 2018, by police officer Michael Rosfeld after being suspected of attempted murder by participating in a drive-by shooting. According to the police report, Rose had an empty handgun magazine in his pocket and gunshot residue on his hand. Allegheny County Medical Examiner Daniel Wolfe said the residue was likely the result of Rose firing a gun. He was transported to UPMC where he was later declared deceased.

The following is a Timeline of British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) undercover operations during Operation Banner during the 1969 – 1998 Northern Irish conflict in Northern Ireland that resulted in death or injury. Including operations by the SAS, 14 Intelligence Company, the Military Reaction Force (MRF), RUC Special Patrol Group and Special Branch.

References

  1. "The Siege of Tralee, November 1 – 9, 1920". The Irish Story. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. Lawlor, Pearse. The Outrages: The IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the Border Campaign. Mercier Press, 2011. pp.275–280
  3. Lawlor, Pearse. The Outrages: The IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the Border Campaign. Mercier Press, 2011. pp.302–309
  4. Findings on Devenny investigation Archived 29 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
  5. Chronology of the Conflict: July 1969, Conflict Archive on the Internet
  6. Lawrence Van Gelder (2012). "Din nabos soen (1981)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2 June 2012.
  7. Reeves, Tim (February 2022). "Dr Duncan: Gay law reform: How South Australia led the nation and English-speaking world". Bulletin (Law Society of South Australia). 44 (1): 32–33 via Informit.
  8. "Stephen Bantu Biko". South African History Online. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  9. Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 1981. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  10. Chronology of the Conflict: 1981. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  11. Chronology of the Conflict: 1997. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  12. "Events in Drumcree - 1996". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  13. CNN News (29 November 2001). "Police jailed over dog attack". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.{{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  14. Tendai Dumbutshena (17 November 2000). "Racist, barbaric incidnt leaves SA shellshocked". Zimbabwe Mirror. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  15. Goldberg, Debbie (14 July 2000). "Beating of Suspect Captured on Video" . Retrieved 29 March 2018 via www.washingtonpost.com.
  16. "Philadelphia Police Beat Suspect". ABC News. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  17. "Philiadelphia Police Beat Suspect". ABC News. 7 January 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  18. Bishop, Tom (14 July 2000). "Police beating in Philadelphia captured on videotape" . Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  19. "Remembering the 2000 Philadelphia RNC: Puppets, Police and The Rock – Philadelphia Magazine". 12 February 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  20. "Ghana tragedy: Police to blame". BBC. 29 July 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  21. "Genoa protester case dismissed". BBC News. 5 May 2003. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  22. Hooper, John. "Top Italian policemen get up to five years for violent attack on G8 protesters." The Guardian. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  23. "Two indicted over teen shooting". Kathimerini. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  24. "Ex-Phoenix officer pleads guilty to manslaughter in killing of unarmed man". AZ Central. 11 December 2013.
  25. "Marching Against Police Brutality in Macedonia". Al Jazeera English. Washington DC. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  26. "Hundreds protest Macedonian beating death". The Washington Post . 7 June 2011.
  27. "Malaysia: UN rights office voices concern about recent crackdown on protesters". UN News Center. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  28. "Malaysia 'overreacts with mass arrests'". The Jakarta Post. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  29. "UN rights disappointed by Malaysian police crackdown". The Straits Times. Singapore. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  30. "Ex-Culpeper Police Officer Sentenced to 36 Months in Fatal Shooting". NBC Washington. 2 May 2013.
  31. "LAPD Officer Found Guilty of Assault in Arrest of Woman Who Died In Police Custody". KTLA. 5 June 2015.
  32. McMichael, Chris (3 September 2012). "The South African Police Service and the Public Order War". Think Africa Press. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  33. Marinovich, Greg (8 September 2012). "The murder fields of Marikana. The cold murder fields of Marikana". Daily Maverick. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  34. "Así marchó la oposición en Venezuela (Fotos)". La Patilla (in Spanish). 12 February 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  35. "Comenzó juicio por el asesinato de Bassil Dacosta". Runrun.es (in Spanish). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  36. "Falleció joven que fue herida con perdigones en el ojo". El Nacional. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  37. Newman, Andy (3 December 2014). "The Death of Eric Garner, and the Events That Followed". New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  38. Burke, Kerry; Otis, Ginger Adams (23 July 2014). "Eric Garner, who died after NYPD chokehold, laid to rest". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  39. Goodman, J. David (13 July 2015). "Eric Garner Case Is Settled by New York City for $5.9 Million". New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  40. Southall, Ashley (19 August 2019). "Daniel Pantaleo, Officer Who Held Eric Garner in Chokehold, Is Fired". New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  41. "White S.C. trooper pleads guilty in shooting of unarmed black man". CBS News. 14 March 2016.
  42. "Former Independence cop gets four-year sentence for encounter that nearly killed teen driver". Kansas City Star . 1 June 2016.
  43. "Court Upholds $6.5M Verdict Against Ex-Independence Cop Who Tased A High School Student". KCUR-FM. 1 June 2021.
  44. "Ex-Rocky Ford cop found guilty of murdering Jack Jacquez while on duty". Denver Post . 23 June 2016.
  45. "Jury finds Baltimore Police Officer Wesley Cagle guilty of assault in shooting of unarmed man". Baltimore Sun .
  46. "Paradise Cop Who Took 11 Minutes To Report Shooting Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter". CBS13. 18 October 2016.
  47. "Tulsa shooting: Family of man killed by police call for protests". BBC. 20 September 2016.
  48. "Terence Crutcher Shooting by Tulsa Police Was 'Tragic' but Justified: Jury Foreman". NBC News. 20 May 2017.
  49. Neuman, Scott (18 October 2017). "Officers Fired After Forcible Removal Of United Airlines Passenger". NPR .
  50. Moreno Losada, Vanessa (26 April 2017). "Falleció estudiante en Caracas por impacto de bomba lacrimógena" (in Spanish). Efecto Cocuyo.
  51. Organización de Estados Americanos, ed. (2018). "TORTURA COMO CRIMEN DE LESA HUMANIDAD". INFORME DE LA SECRETARÍA GENERAL DE LA ORGANIZACIÓN DE LOS ESTADOS AMERICANOS Y DEL PANEL DE EXPERTOS INTERNACIONALES INDEPENDIENTES SOBRE LA POSIBLE OMISIÓN DE CRÍMENES DE LESA HUMANIDAD EN VENEZUELA (PDF). Washington D.C. Retrieved 24 June 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  52. Lysaura (8 June 2017). "Madre de Neomar Lander desmiente show de "NotiPatria" sobre su hijo (+Video)". El Cooperante. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  53. "Una bomba lacrimógena presuntamente le habría causado la muerte a un joven en la avenida Libertador". La Patilla (in European Spanish). 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  54. "[EXCLUSIVO] Registramos cuando GNB le disparó a manifestantes en Altamira" (in Spanish). El Nacional. 19 June 2017.
  55. "Police must end use of excessive force against protesters and high school children in France". www.amnesty.org. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  56. "Reconstruction et quête de vérité : l'autre combat des gilets jaunes mutilés". LExpress (in French). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  57. Dehimi, Mathilde (2 June 2019). "Ces gilets jaunes ont perdu un œil ou une main lors de manifestations et appellent à interdire grenades et LBD". France Inter (in French). Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  58. Etancelin, Valentin (1 February 2019). "Ces gilets jaunes ont "perdu un œil", qu'est-ce que cela veut dire exactement?". Le Huffington Post (in French). Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  59. "French police use teargas at gilets jaunes protest in Paris". The Guardian. 12 September 2020.
  60. "INDH presenta querella por joven que perdió un ojo por lacrimógena en año nuevo en Plaza Italia". Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (in Spanish). 8 January 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  61. "INDH se querella por lesión a profesor que perdió un ojo en Valparaíso". Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (in Spanish). 4 January 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  62. "Chauvin And 3 Former Officers Face New Charges Over George Floyd's Death". NPR. 3 June 2020.
  63. Yousif, Nadine (9 May 2024). "US airman shot and killed by police in Florida". BBC News . Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  64. O'Connor, John (5 August 2024). "Deputy who shot Sonya Massey thought her rebuke 'in the name of Jesus' indicated intent to kill him". ABC News . Retrieved 6 August 2024.