New York City police fired a white police
officer on Monday over the July 17, 2014, killing of a black man
with a prohibited chokehold.
Eric Garner, 43, died after officer Daniel Pantaleo used a
chokehold as police attempted to arrest him on suspicion of
selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on a sidewalk.
A Staten Island grand jury and the U.S. Department of
Justice both declined to prosecute, another example of a law
enforcement officer facing no criminal liability for killing an
unarmed black man.
However, this is one of the many cases where a black life was lost at the hands of the white police officer who then avoided criminal liability all together.
Other high-profile cases:
Terence Crutcher:
Betty Shelby, a white police officer, was captured on video
fatally shooting a 40-year-old black man, Crutcher, as
he stood near his car on Sept. 16, 2016, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Shelby said she feared Crutcher was reaching for a gun, but
he had no weapon. A jury acquitted Shelby of first-degree
manslaughter the following year, and she resigned.
Philando Castile:
Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot a 32-year-old black man,
Philando Castile, five times during a traffic stop in Falcon
Heights, Minnesota, on July 6, 2016.
The officer said he had
feared for his life when Castile said he was carrying a firearm
and reached for his wallet when Yanez asked to see
identification. Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter in 2017.
Samuel Dubose:
University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing fatally
shot black motorist Samuel DuBose, 43, after stopping him for a
missing front license plate in July 2015. Tensing, who is white,
said he feared for his life during the traffic stop when DuBose
refused to leave his vehicle, which started rolling forward
slowly. Tensing pulled his gun and fired once.
A state jury was unable to reach a verdict on murder and
manslaughter charges in November 2016 and a retrial in 2017 also
ended in a hung jury.
Michael Brown:
Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot Michael Brown,
an unarmed 18-year-old black man, in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug.
9, 2014. The killing sparked nearly two weeks of protests and
rioting that subsided at the family's urging just before Brown's
funeral.
A state grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S.
Department of Justice declined to prosecute him. Wilson is no
longer with the police force.
Freddie Gray:
In Baltimore, a 25-year-old black man, Freddie Gray, was
arrested on April 12, 2015 after police said he fled the scene
unprovoked in a high crime area while in possession of an
illegal switchblade.
After being transported in a police van, Gray was
hospitalized unconscious and died on April 19 of what was
determined to be a neck injury.
Six Baltimore police officers, including three who are
black, were charged with Gray's death. None was convicted, and
the U.S. Department of Justice subsequently decided not to bring
charges against them.
Tamir Rice:
Loehmann, a white police officer, shot Tamir Rice, a
12-year-old black boy who was displaying a toy gun, in
Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 22, 2014.
A grand jury declined to indict Loehmann and another officer
at the scene. Loehmann was later fired from the police
department for concealing information in his original job
application.
Walter Scott:
Michael Slager, a white police officer, was caught on video
shooting a 50-year-old unarmed black man, Scott, in the
back after a traffic stop in Charleston, South Carolina, on
April 4, 2015.
After a state murder trial ended with a deadlocked jury,
Slager pleaded guilty to federal charges that he violated
Scott's civil rights and was sentenced in 2017 to 20 years in
prison.
Justine Damon:
In an example where the officer was a Somali-American and
the victim was white, former officer Mohamed Noor, 33, was
convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter
for killing 40-year-old Justine Ruszczyk Damond outside her home
near Minneapolis.
In June, Noor was sentenced to 12 years and
six months in prison.