Say Their Name, Remember Their Story

[wokeupamerica]

About this Blog

For my History 200 Final Assignment, I decided to compile all the killings of black and brown females done by police in the year 2016 alone. The #BlackLivesMatter movement to most people is mostly associated with black males however it is important to note that black and brown females also are targeted under the same system. Through my blog, I wanted to emphasize the stories of these woman who fell victim to police in 2016. I am not scrutinizing police officers however I want them to reevaluate how they operate. Shooting a civilian should never be the first option, proper and adequate training on all other options need to be enforced from the start. Many victims of police killings have associated mental disorders that become apparent during the time of incidence. Officers are not equipped to deal with the mentally ill, especially the black and brown mentally ill. In many situations cops do not know what they’re doing or what to do, this is due to a mix of money not being allocated to local government to train these cops, the ease of becoming a cop as opposed to a lawyer, and most times police prejudices. Inefficient training of police officers is a problem, as seen through this blog, that affects states across the country. It is not a state problem but a national issue that needs to be met so that police killings of civilians can be less common, if not rare. A special reference to http://www.killedbypolice.net/#key for an updated list of information.

[wokeupamerica]

Michelle Lee Shirley, 39, was fatally shot by Torrance, California, police as she approached a group of officers in her car.

According to authorities, Torrance police responded to a series of 911 calls in which they were warned of an “erratic and reckless driver.”

When cops found Shirley, they boxed her in with their patrol cars. When she veered forward at them, officers opened fire at her.

Shirley’s family said they believe she was off her bipolar medication during the time of the incident. Before she died, Shirley can be seen discussing the struggles of her disorder and how it affected her life while trying to balance motherhood and law school.

October 31, 2016

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Renee Davis, a 23-year-old Native American woman, was said to have ignored repeated commands to drop her weapon at her home in northwestern Washington state was fatally shot. 

Two King County Sheriff’s deputies reportedly arrived at Davis’ home on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation in Auburn, Washington, to check on her welfare. Davis’ boyfriend reportedly alerted authorities after he received a text message from her that said, “Well come get the girls or call 911 I’m about to shoot myself.” 

She suffered from depression and was a pregnant mother of three. 

They found Davis inside the room, under a blanket on the bed. According to the sheriff’s office, Davis did not show her hands when the deputies asked her to do so. When a deputy removes the blanket, Davis held a handgun in one hand, an ammunition magazine in the other. Davis failed to follow repeated orders to put her handgun down and then directed it at the deputies. 

Both deputies fired in response. Davis, who was five months’ pregnant, was pronounced dead at the scene. Afterward, authorities learned the handgun was empty. 

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated. The deputies also underwent additional training on crisis intervention.

October 21, 2016

[wokeupamerica]

Deborah Danner, age 66 was fatally shot by an NYPD sergeant in the Bronx, New York.

Neighbors say she had extensive mental health difficulties and was fine on her medicine.

Five cops and their patrol sergeant found her in the apartment with scissors in her hand. The sergeant convinced her to put them down.

"After putting down the scissors, the female subject approached the sergeant and grabbed a baseball bat. As she attempted to strike the sergeant, he fired two shots from his service revolver, striking her in the torso," said Assistant Chief Larry Nikunen, NYPD Patrol Borough Bronx. "The sergeant was armed with a Taser, it was not deployed, and the reason it was not deployed will be part of the investigation and review."

The sergeant's actions are now under review. Why did he choose to shoot her, when none of his officers opened fire?

October 18, 2016

[wokeupamerica]

Black female, Korryn Gaines, was shot and killed by police and her 5-year-old son was wounded Monday after an hours-long standoff at her Maryland apartment ended in gunfire.

Gaines was wanted on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on charges related to previous cases 

Officers opened fire after Gaines, 23, pointed a legally-purchased Mossberg 12-gauge pistol grip shotgun at them and said, "If you don't leave, I'm going to kill you."

The boy was taken to Johns Hopkins Children's Center and was in good condition.

It was not immediately clear if her son was hit by a shot fired by his mother or by the tactical officers who had been trying to get her to surrender.

The officers involved in the deadly standoff are on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.

August 1, 2016

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Joyce Quaweay, 24, was beaten to death by her boyfriend and his best friend last Friday in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Aaron Wright, 47, Quaweay's boyfriend and the father of her two children, beat her to death with his fists and baton after stripping her naked and handcuffing her to a bench. Marquis Robinson, 41, Wright's best friend, restrained Quaweay and moved her body so that Wright could beat her.

Police were called by Robinson's girlfriend who walked in on the beating. Wright and Robinson were arrested soon after. Wright is charged with murder, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, conspiracy to commit murder, and abuse of a corpse. Robinson was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, and abuse of a corpse. Homicide Capt. James Clark said Wright was "controlling" and "he [Wright] felt like she would not submit to his authority and this was his way of punishing her to try to break her." Wright has fired from his job as a police officer for Temple University in 2012. Both men were once police officers at Temple University.

July 29, 2016

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Latino female, Melissa Ventura, 24, of Yuma, Arizona was shot shortly after she opened the door of her home.

The newspaper reports that deputies went to Ventura's home on a domestic call and knocked on the door. Ventura opened the door with a knife in hand and alledgedly immediately began attacking them. 

She was mother of three, and she lived for her kids," said her sister Tiffany Ventura

The deputies, who were not injured, have been placed on administrative leave.

Arizona

July 6, 2016

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Jessica Williams, a 29-year-old homeless woman was fatally shot and killed by a single shot to her chest apparently trying to escape police in a stolen vehicle, 

Williams was killed after Police Chief Greg Suhr "discharged an unknown number of rounds into the vehicle."

No weapon was found on the woman.

Hours after the shooting, Suhr tendered his resignation at the request of Mayor Ed Lee, who cited “tensions between law enforcement and communities of color that have simmered for too many years.” 

California

May 19, 2016

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Deresha Armstrong, 26, was fatally shot Thursday during a confrontation first with a homeowner, then with a deputy.

Thomas Miller, 61, owner of an auto paint shop on Mission Road said he came face to face with an armed woman and the two fired shots at each other. Miller was wounded in the exchange.

The sheriff's office said Sgt. Vernon Brown arrived in the area a short time later and shot Armstrong.  A gun was found next to her body.

Court records show Armstrong plead no contest to a concealed weapons charge in February, but was not adjudicated guilty.

This was the second time officer Brown has been involved in a shooting. In 1997, he was cleared in the shooting of a teenager wanted in a car theft.

Florida

May 5, 2016

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Black female, Laronda Sweatt, age 40.

Officers did not release what happened prior to this incident. 

Couldn’t the officer have possibly shot her in the leg instead? 

Tennessee

April 6, 2016

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American Indian female, Loreal Juana Barnell-Tsingine, 27, was shot five times after an altercation that began with a shoplifting call Winslow, Arizona.

According to police, Tsingine fit the description of a shoplifting suspect and police tried to take her into custody. She fought against officers and had scissors in her hands, police said, before Shipley, the officer, shot her.

Austin Shipley decided to quit after a meeting in which he was confronted with the results of an internal affairs investigation.

March 27, 2016

[wokeupamerica]

25 year-old India Beaty was shot and killed by two Norfolk Police officers after she allegedly brandished a weapon at them.

According to a release, Norfolk Police’s Vice and Narcotics Division was conducting a surveillance operation in the 9500 block of Shore Drive. Shortly before 1:20 a.m., the officers saw two men and one woman in a verbal argument, which was unrelated to their investigation.

It was said by the police chief, “As they got out of the van they identified themselves as police officers, they were wearing raid vests that were clearly marked police.”

“They ordered everyone to show hands and to get on the ground. Two of the individuals complied with those instructions and ended up on the ground. Ms. Beaty did not. She turned on the officer, made a threatening motion with the weapon and at that point officers opened fire and ultimately killed Ms. Beaty.”

“The officers attempted to do first aid at the scene, but unfortunately, Ms. Beaty was not able to survive” 

Virginia

March 19, 2016

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American Indian 36-year-old Sherrisa Homer, was said to appear at the window of an apartment with a handgun, which she pointed at herself and waved around the open window. She suddenly pointed the gun at two officers, and one officer then opened fire.

Homer was transported to a hospital, where she died of her injuries.The officer who fired his weapon is 40 years old and has eight years of service.

As is standard protocol, he has been put on paid administrative leave pending a review of the shooting.

Arizona

February 21, 2016

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Kisha Shelly Michael, a 31-year-old black woman, was fatally shot by Inglewood police Sunday, Feb. 21 in Inglewood, California.

Officers said they received a call early Sunday morning of a suspicious vehicle stopped near West Manchester Boulevard and South Inglewood Avenue. When they approached the car, they noticed the woman in the car had a gun and ordered her and a man out of the vehicle.

Officers then took cover and opened fire. Information was withheld as to whether the pair had refused to exit the vehicle or if the woman fired or pointed the gun at police officers.

The day before she was killed, she attended a baby shower and a friend’s birthday party. She left her three sons, ages 11, 10 and 3, with a neighborhood friend.

February 21, 2016

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Black Female, Sahlah Ridgeway, 32, was shot by an officer in front of Kimton Place Apartments in Syracuse, New York.

Two uniformed officers responded to Kimton Place Apartments around 8:30 p.m. after a 911 caller reported drugs were being sold on the building's third floor. When a group of people near the back of the building saw the officer, Ridgeway ran toward the front of the building while holding a shotgun. She was confronted by the officer stationed near the front of the building, he said.The officer repeatedly ordered Ridgeway to drop her weapon. When she allegedly refused, the officer shot her multiple times.

There was no evidence Ridgeway was involved in the reported drug activity.

February 12, 2016

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American Indian female, Jessica Bonilla, age 32, was shot and killed by a police officer who police say was accelerating toward officers in a car in Tacoma.

Tacoma police say officers were attempting to locate a man wanted on two felony warrants for robbery and a gun complaint just before midnight. They spotted the suspect's vehicle in a neighborhood adjacent to Lincoln High School, south of downtown Tacoma.

When officers approached the car, police say a woman in the driver's seat started to accelerate. As police started shooting at the woman, the suspect ran away, according to police. She was shot four times.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Washington

January 28, 2016

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Black female, Janet Wilson, age 31, was shot multiple times by a Dearborn police officer on Hubbard Drive after an incident with mall security officers at nearby Fairlane Town Center on Jan. 27 in Dearborn, Michigan. She was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

The Dearborn officer is on leave until the investigation is completed. 

January 27, 2016