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Vauhxx Booker

On July 4, 2020, Vauhxx Booker and a friend were walking through a wooded area toward a popular public Monroe Lake beach, when they were stopped by a group of white men. The group told Booker that he and his friend were trespassing, to which Booker apologized and tried to move on. Instead, the group became hostile and aggressive. Two men, Sean Purdy and Jerry Fox, violently pinned Booker to a tree while yelling racial slurs at him and calling for someone to get a noose. 

A group of bystanders intervened, as well as filmed the incident. Though police were called and shown the video, no arrests were immediately made. Later, Purdy and Fox were both charged with battery and other crimes. Booker also contracted Covid, possibly due to the men spitting on him. 

Also noteworthy is that a protest in support of Vauhxx Booker was interrupted by a person in a vehicle attempting to run down protesters. Several of the protesters were injured.

ABC

Indiana Public Media

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James Byrd Jr.

Warning: Contents may be distressing or disturbing. 

James Byrd Jr. was a resident of Jasper, Texas in 1998. He was a father or three, and was known for walking around town as he had a seizure disorder that prohibited him from driving. On the night of June 7, 1998 attended a family function, and then a party at a friend’s house. He left on foot, as usual.

Sometime on his walk home, Byrd accepted a ride from three men in a pickup truck, Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer and John King. All three had served extensive prison time, where they had joined white supremacist groups, and still adhered to their ideology after release. One of them had even attempted to start a new white supremacist organization. Instead of taking Byrd home, the three drove him out of town. The men attacked Byrd, beating him severely, covering his face in spray paint, and urinating and defecating on him.

The men then took a heavy duty chain and wrapped it around Byrd’s ankles, and dragged him behind the truck for several miles. The truck hit a culvert, which severed Byrd’s head and one arm. They then dumped Byrd’s body out in front of an African American church. Medical examiners later determined that Byrd was alive for quite a bit of the dragging, as his head showed less damage than the rest of his body, indicating that Byrd had tried to protect himself. Every rib in his body was broken, and his arms and elbows were ground down to the bone. 

Berry, Brewer, and King were all arrested as overwhelming evidence mounted against them. However, no white man in Jasper had ever been convicted of a crime against a Black man, so it was no sure thing. Berry flipped on the other two in exchange for some leniency, and all three were convicted of lynching James Byrd Jr. Brewer and King were sentenced to death, and Berry life imprisonment. 

Brewer and King were both executed via lethal injection, becoming the first white men executed for the murder of a Black man in Texas. The murder of James Byrd Jr. also gave a huge push to pass a hate crimes law in Texas.

 Wikipedia

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Javier Ambler

On March 28, 2019, Javier Ambler was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies while driving in Austin, Texas. Javier allegedly tried to flee from the deputies, who had stopped him for failing to dim his headlights. The deputies tased Javier multiple times as he fell to the ground. As he lay on the ground attempting to comply, he told the deputies that he suffered from congestive heart failure. As they detained him, Javier began to tell the officers over and over that he couldn’t breathe, and asking them to “please save me.” After he had been handcuffed and tased again, Javier lay motionless on the ground, where he died. His death was ruled a “ homicide, caused by congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease in combination with forcible restraint."  

Javier’s arrest and death was all filmed by reality show Live PD, which was cancelled by A&E following the death of George Floyd. The footage was not requested by investigators and A&E issued the following statement;  "As is the case with all footage taken by Live PD producers, we no longer retained the unaired footage after learning that the investigation had concluded."

Police bodycam footage of Javier’s death was obtained, however.

An internal affairs investigation by Williamson County stated that its deputies did nothing wrong in Ambler's death.

  Wikipedia

The Statesman

CNN

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Althea Bernstein

Eighteen year old Althea Bernstein was driving to a friend’s house on June 24 2020. She was stopped at a red light when she heard someone yell the n-word at her. Through her open window, four white men assaulted Althea, one spraying lighter fluid on her face and another threw a lit lighter at her lighting her face on fire. She was able to drive away and stop to put the flames out, and returned to a family member’s home, where her mother convinced her to seek medical treatment. Althea is home and healthy, though she will need further treatment. 

Her family has issued the following statement;  “Our family is saddened at what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body.”

In Althea’s own words

CNN

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Eric Garner

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner stood outside a beauty supply shop in Tomskinville, Staten Island. Police officers approached Garner and accused him of selling “loosies”, or individual cigarettes from packs. Garner became frustrated, telling the police “ Every time you see me, you want to mess with me. I'm tired of it. It stops today. [...] Please just leave me alone.” 

Officer Daniel Pantaleo moved in behind Garner to cuff him, and Garner pulled away, asking not to be touched. Pantaleo then put Garner in a headlock, slamming him into a window. Garner stumbled to his hands and knees while Pantaleo continued to choke him from behind. Other officers surrounded Garner, and Pantaleo released his chokehold to slam Eric Garner’s face into the ground. Garner was heard to say  “I can’t breathe” eleven times before he went still and motionless on the sidewalk. 

When an ambulance finally arrived, medics didn’t administer any aid before loading him into the vehicle. According to police, Garner died of a heart attack on the way to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. However, the New York Medical Examiner ruled Eric Garner’s death a homicide from compression of the neck and chest while being restrained. Pantaleo was not indicted for the murder of Eric Garner.

Eric Garner was known as a peacekeeper in his neighborhood, and had a loving wife, six children, and three grandchildren.

Wikipedia

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Manuel Ellis

On March 3, 2020, Manuel Ellis was recorded on eyewitness video being held down, beaten, and tased by police officers in Tacoma, Washington. Police claimed they had stopped Ellis because he was attempting to open the doors of occupied vehicles, but the witness, Sara McDowell ,disputed that claim. She said that Ellis was having a friendly conversation with the police when one of them opened his car door and knocked Ellis to the ground. As police continue to assault Ellis, Sara begs for the officers to stop and just to arrest him. She says that officers continued to assault Ellis after he was motionless on the ground. Dispatcher audio captured Manuel Ellis screaming, “I can’t breathe!” Ellis died at the scene.

Ellis’ death has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner due to hypoxia and physical restraint. Manuel Ellis was a musician and a father of two children.

The Guardian

CNN

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Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland was driving her car in Prairie View, Texas when a police officer began tailing her car. As the patrol car accelerated and drove aggressively, Sandra changed lanes to get out of the patrol car’s way. She was immediately pulled over by Officer Brian Encinia for failure to signal. 

When Encinia approached her car, dash cam footage records  Encinia asking Sandra why she was irritated. She replied that she was upset that she was getting a ticket for getting out of his way. When Sandra refused to put out her cigarette in her own vehicle, Encinia ordered her out of the car. Cell phone footage taken by Sandra was discovered, and contained a record of the argument between Sandra and Encinia. It also showed clearly that at no time did Encinia believe she was holding a gun, contradicting statements he later gave. A video taken by a bystander shows Sandra lying on the ground crying, claiming the officer slammed her head and telling him she is epileptic. 

Sandra was arrested and taken to Waller County Jail, where she was held for three days. On July 13, 2015, Sandra was found dead in her cell at 9:00 am. Her death was ruled a suicide.

Wikipedia 

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Botham Jean

On September 6, 2018, Dallas Texas Police Officer Amber Guyger finished her shift and went home to her third floor apartment. Upon entering, Guyger alleges that she saw a large, dark silhouette in her living room. Fearing for her life, she took out her gun and shot the intruder.

Only it wasn’t her apartment. The fourth floor apartment was one story above Guyger’s, and belonged to 26 year old Botham Jean. Bo, as his family and friends called him, was an accountant and a fervent churchgoer. He was in his own home when Guyger entered and shot him. After the shooting, police claim to have found a small amount of marijuana in his home, which his family says was an attempt to smear Botham’s name. 

Guyger was arrested for murder and brought to trial, based on the fact that she could have walked away or radioed for help rather than shoot an unarmed man in his own home. Some witnesses contested Guyger’s version of events. Guyger claimed that she shot Botham out of fear, and not because of race. Botham’s younger brother Brandt hugged and forgave Guyger. Amber Guyger was sentenced to ten years in prison. 

Wikipedia

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Atatiana Jefferson

On October 12, 2019 a Fort Worth, Texas man noticed that the front door of his neighbor’s home was still open at nearly two in the morning. James Smith called the non-emergency number and requested the police do a welfare check on the home. Inside, Atatiana Jefferson was awake, playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew. Officers arrived at the house, and  Aaron Dean began by approaching the front door of the home. In bodycam footage, you can see Dean approach the front door, which only had the screen door closed, and look inside without announcing himself. He moves on to the side door and does the same. Moving around the back of the home, he opens a back gate and shines a light through a backyard window. Inside, Atatiana’s nephew said the scared young woman took a handgun from her purse and pointed at the window. Outside, Aaron Dean shouts at her “let me see your hands!” before immediately shooting through the window, killing Atatiana in her own home. At no time did he identify himself as a police officer.

Aaron Dean resigned from the department and was arrested for murder. Atatiana was within her rights to defend herself, according to the police. 

NBC News

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Tamir Rice

On November 22, 2014, twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy pistol in a Cleveland park. The toy, an airsoft replica,looked enough like a real pistol to prompt a concerned citizen to call the police. The caller stated that there was “a guy in here with a pistol” in the park, but also stated that he was likely a juvenile and the gun was likely fake. However, the dispatcher allegedly failed to pass this information on to officers  Frank Garmback and  Tim Loehmann, who were told that it was a “code one”, or highest level of urgency. Surveillance video shows Tamir sitting in the gazebo, when a police car speeds onto the lawn and up to the very edge of the gazebo. The boy then rises and starts toward the car, possibly lifting the edge of his shirt. Loehmann gets out of the car and without pause or hesitation fatally shoots Tamir in the stomach. Loehmann went on to claim that he instructed Tamir to raise his hands three times, but the video clearly shows that Loemann got out of the car and shot Tamir within two seconds.

Tamir’s fourteen-year-old sister was then tackled to the ground, and when Tamir’s mother arrived police threatened to arrest her unless she calmed down.

Prosecutors chose to wait nearly a year before bringing the matter before the grand jury, and after viewing the video of a Black child getting fatally shot in a public park, that jury chose not to bring charges. 

New York Times

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Eric Reason

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Michael Lorenzo Dean

On December 12, 2019 officer Carmen DeCruz attempted to pull over a speeding car in Temple, Texas. Body camera footage shows DeCruz approaching Dean’s car on the passenger side and demanding Dean’s keys. DeCruz reached into the car with his left hand, while holding his gun, finger on the trigger, in his right hand. As he pulled back away from the car, the gun discharged, striking Micheal Dean in the face and killing him. Police spokesmen continue to claim that the shot was accidental,and DeCruz has been charged with manslaughter. Lee Merritt, attorney for the Dean family, refutes that claim. 

Dean was shot in his temple through a closed door seconds after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation. It is clear that Decruz intended to cause serious bodily harm or death when he shot Michael Dean in the face without justification. That is murder. We are demanding that the appropriate charges be pursued. 

Michael Lorenzo Dean was unarmed.

KCEN TV

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Breonna Taylor

On March 13, 2020 Louisville Kentucky police executed a no-knock warrant at the home of Breonna Taylor as she slept in her own bed with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Police broke into the home using a battering ram, after which Walker fired at the officers. The officers returned fire, hitting Breonna eight times and killing her. Walker was arrested for the attempted murder of a police officer, but later charges were dismissed. A no-knock warrant allows officers to force entry into a home without announcing themselves as police. Walker claims that they never identified themselves. Police claim that they did identify themselves, despite the warrant specifically stating they did not need to. Breonna lived at an address an alleged drug dealer may have used to receive packages. The dealer in question had already been apprehended when the warrant at Breonna’s apartment was executed.

Breonna Taylor was 26 years old and an emergency room technician. She had aspirations of becoming a nurse and mother. 

New York Times

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George Floyd

Died May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis Minnesota after being handcuffed face down in the street with Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck. Three other officers were present, but failed to intervene and two helped restrain Floyd. Floyd begged for his life, saying over and over he could not breathe and asking for his mother. Bystanders were prevented from assisting him. George Floyd's death was later determined to be homicide by medical examiners. George’s only alleged crime was possession of a counterfeit twenty dollar bill, which he was unlikely aware was a fake. 

Wikipedia