Killing of Amadou Diallo

In the early hours of February 4, 1999, Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old unarmed Guinean immigrant and street vendor, was fatally shot outside his residence in the Soundview section of the Bronx, New York. Four plainclothes New York City Police Department officers — Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon, and Kenneth Boss, all members of the Street Crime Unit — had been searching the area for a serial rape suspect. According to the account of events, the officers observed Diallo standing in his building's doorway and stopped to question him. When ordered to show his hands, Diallo reached into his jacket pocket, producing what turned out to be his wallet. One officer, believing Diallo was drawing a firearm, opened fire; the recoil caused him to fall, and the other three officers, believing their colleague had been shot, also fired. In total, the officers fired 41 rounds, striking Diallo 19 times. An eyewitness, Sherrie Elliott, stated that officers continued firing after Diallo had already fallen. No weapon was found on or near Diallo.

An internal NYPD investigation concluded the officers had acted within policy. However, on March 25, 1999, a Bronx grand jury indicted the four officers on charges of second-degree murder and reckless endangerment. Citing pretrial publicity, a court ordered a change of venue to Albany, New York. On February 25, 2000, following three days of deliberation, a jury composed of four Black and eight white jurors acquitted all four officers of all charges.

The shooting provoked widespread protest in New York City and beyond, resulting in approximately 1,200 arrests of demonstrators, and drew involvement from figures including Rep. John Lewis and Rev. Al Sharpton. In March 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the NYPD's Street Crime Unit had engaged in racial profiling. In April 2000, Diallo's parents filed a $61 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officers; in March 2004 they accepted a $3 million settlement, one of the largest such settlements in New York City for a single man without dependents. The Street Crime Unit was disbanded in April 2002 following the Diallo case and other controversies. Diallo's mother, Kadiatou Diallo, published a memoir about her son's death in 2003.

Officer Kenneth Boss, the only one of the four officers to remain with the NYPD long-term, was reassigned to desk duty after the trial, had his firearm privileges restored in 2012, was promoted to sergeant in 2015, and retired from law enforcement in 2019. The case remained a reference point in subsequent public discussions of police accountability, including remarks by Diallo's mother following the 2021 conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.