01 / 44
Trayvon Martin
A neighborhood-watch volunteer followed and fatally shot Martin as he walked back from a store in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was acquitted after claiming self-defense.
A LIVING MEMORIAL · UPDATED JULY 25, 2026
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Move through this wall as a journey—across, down, back, and forward. Each shift holds one life in view.
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02 / 44
Renisha McBride
After a car crash, McBride sought help at a Dearborn Heights home. The homeowner shot her through a closed screen door and was later convicted.
03 / 44
Jordan Davis
Davis was shot in Jacksonville after an argument over music playing from a parked SUV. Michael Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder.
04 / 44
Kendrec McDade
Pasadena police shot McDade after responding to a false armed-robbery report. He was unarmed; the caller later admitted lying about seeing a gun.
05 / 44
Michael Brown
Ferguson officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown after a street encounter. His death and the police response to protests became a national flashpoint.
06 / 44
Tamir Rice
Cleveland police shot Rice within seconds of arriving at a park where he was holding a toy pellet gun. A grand jury declined to indict the officers.
07 / 44
Akai Gurley
A New York officer fired into a dark public-housing stairwell, striking Gurley. The officer was convicted; the judge reduced the verdict to criminally negligent homicide.
08 / 44
Jonathan Ferrell
Seeking help after a car crash, Ferrell approached Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers and was shot ten times. The officer’s manslaughter trial ended in a hung jury.
09 / 44
Amadou Diallo
Four New York officers fired 41 shots at Diallo in his apartment vestibule after mistaking his wallet for a gun. All four were acquitted.
10 / 44
Eric Garner
Garner died after a New York officer put him in a prohibited chokehold during an arrest for allegedly selling loose cigarettes. His final words included “I can’t breathe.”
11 / 44
John Crawford III
Beavercreek police shot Crawford inside a Walmart while he held an air rifle sold by the store. Officers had responded to a 911 call that overstated the threat.
12 / 44
Ezell Ford
Los Angeles officers stopped and fatally shot Ford, who was unarmed and had a history of mental illness. Police oversight bodies reached conflicting findings.
13 / 44
Dante Parker
Parker died after a San Bernardino County deputy repeatedly used a Taser during a mistaken detention. His death was associated with cardiac arrest and restraint.
14 / 44
Philando Castile
A Minnesota officer shot Castile during a traffic stop after Castile disclosed that he was legally carrying a firearm. The officer was acquitted.
15 / 44
Alton Sterling
Baton Rouge officers pinned Sterling outside a convenience store and shot him at close range. State and federal prosecutors declined criminal charges.
16 / 44
Freddie Gray
Gray sustained a fatal spinal-cord injury while in Baltimore police custody. Charges against six officers ended in acquittals, a mistrial, or dismissal.
17 / 44
Samuel DuBose
A University of Cincinnati officer shot DuBose during a traffic stop. Two murder trials ended with hung juries; the university later settled with his family.
18 / 44
Sandra Bland
Bland was arrested after a Texas traffic stop and found dead in a county jail three days later. Her death was ruled suicide and prompted jail-reform legislation.
19 / 44
Walter Scott
A North Charleston officer shot Scott in the back as he ran after a traffic stop. Video contradicted the officer’s first account; he received a 20-year sentence.
20 / 44
Tanisha Anderson
Anderson died during a Cleveland police encounter after her family sought help during a mental-health crisis. Her death was ruled a homicide caused by restraint.
21 / 44
Aiyana Stanley-Jones
Detroit police killed Aiyana during a nighttime raid when an officer’s gun discharged. The officer’s trials ended without a conviction.
22 / 44
Terrence Sterling
A Washington, D.C., officer shot Sterling after a motorcycle pursuit. The officer was fired for policy violations; prosecutors declined charges.
23 / 44
Stephon Clark
Sacramento officers chased Clark into his grandmother’s backyard and shot him while he held a cellphone. Prosecutors declined to charge the officers.
24 / 44
Botham Jean
Off-duty Dallas officer Amber Guyger entered Jean’s apartment, mistook it for her own, and shot him. She was convicted of murder.
25 / 44
Atatiana Jefferson
A Fort Worth officer shot Jefferson through a window while responding to a welfare call at her home. The former officer was convicted of manslaughter.
26 / 44
Ahmaud Arbery
Three white men pursued Arbery as he jogged through a Georgia neighborhood and killed him. They were convicted of murder and federal hate crimes.
27 / 44
Breonna Taylor
Louisville officers executing a nighttime search warrant fired into Taylor’s apartment, killing her. One former detective pleaded guilty over the warrant; another was convicted of a federal civil-rights offense.
28 / 44
George Floyd
Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin murdered Floyd by kneeling on his neck during an arrest. The killing sparked worldwide protests against racism and police violence.
29 / 44
Dominique Clayton
An off-duty Oxford, Mississippi, officer entered Clayton’s home and fatally shot her while she slept. He pleaded guilty to culpable-negligence manslaughter.
30 / 44
Rayshard Brooks
Atlanta police shot Brooks in the back as he fled after a struggle during a DUI arrest. A special prosecutor later declined charges against the officers.
31 / 44
SURVIVOR
Jacob Blake
A Kenosha officer shot Blake seven times in the back during an attempted arrest, leaving him paralyzed. Prosecutors declined criminal charges.
32 / 44
Sean Monterrosa
A Vallejo officer fired through a police vehicle’s windshield, killing Monterrosa outside a pharmacy during unrest. Monterrosa was unarmed.
33 / 44
Ma’Khia Bryant
A Columbus officer shot Bryant while she swung a knife during a fight outside a foster home. Prosecutors and an internal review deemed the shooting justified.
34 / 44
Jayland Walker
Akron officers fired dozens of rounds at Walker after a vehicle pursuit and foot chase. A grand jury declined to indict the officers.
35 / 44
Tyre Nichols
Memphis officers brutally beat Nichols after a traffic stop; he died three days later. Two officers pleaded guilty federally, and three others were convicted of federal felonies but acquitted of state charges.
36 / 44
Keenan Anderson
Los Angeles police repeatedly used a Taser and restrained Anderson after a traffic collision. He died at a hospital hours later.
37 / 44
Daunte Wright
Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter shot Wright during a traffic stop after saying she mistook her handgun for a Taser. She was convicted of manslaughter.
38 / 44
Amir Locke
Minneapolis police shot Locke seconds after entering an apartment with a no-knock warrant. Locke was not named in the warrant; prosecutors declined charges.
39 / 44
Patrick Lyoya
A Grand Rapids officer shot Lyoya in the back of the head during a struggle after a traffic stop. A 2025 murder trial ended in a hung jury; prosecutors declined a retrial.
40 / 44
Irvo Otieno
Otieno died while deputies and hospital workers restrained him at a Virginia psychiatric hospital. His death was ruled homicide by asphyxia; all criminal cases ended in acquittal or dismissal.
41 / 44
Ta’Kiya Young
An Ohio township officer shot pregnant Ta’Kiya Young through her car windshield after she was accused of shoplifting. A jury acquitted the officer on all counts in 2025.
42 / 44
OPEN CASE
Roger Fortson
A Florida deputy shot Senior Airman Fortson after he opened his apartment door holding a legally owned handgun pointed down. The former deputy pleaded not guilty to manslaughter; trial is pending.
43 / 44
Sonya Massey
After Massey called 911 for help, an Illinois deputy shot her in her kitchen. Sean Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years.
44 / 44
UNDER INVESTIGATION
Corey Durell Ruiz
A Madison, Wisconsin, officer shot Ruiz during a July 22 struggle. Police say Ruiz injured an officer with a knife; family counsel disputes that the shooting was justified. State and city investigations are ongoing.
Current reporting ↗
THE WALL CONTINUES
Memory is an act.
Accuracy is a duty.
This is a curated memorial, not a complete census. It distinguishes killings by police, deaths in custody, killings by civilians, and one survivor. Open cases are labeled, and Corey Durell Ruiz’s entry reflects facts reported through July 24, 2026.