The 10th Anniversary of the Violent Death of Amadou Diallo

Amadou Diallo was a 23-year old immigrant from the West African country of Guinea who emigrated to the U.S. in order to study biochemistry.  Growing up, Diallo’s family travelled around the world depending on where his father was employed, and Diallo studied in Thailand, London, as well as Guinea.  Diallo arrived in New York City in 1996 and started a business with his cousin, selling videotapes, socks, and gloves on the sidewalk during the day, while studying in the evenings.  On the early morning of February 4, 1999, Diallo was loitering outside his apartment building when a 4 undercover officers drove past him.  The 4 officers, Edward McMellon, Sean Carroll, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy, thought Diallo matched the description of a serial rapist in the area and approached him.  According to the officers, when they identified themselves as NYPD officers, Diallo ran up the outside steps of his building, and ignored their orders to stop.  Diallo then began to reach into his jacket, when Carroll yelled “Gun,” at which point all 4 officers opened fire.  The officers fired 41 shots, hitting Amadou Diallo 19 times.  No weapons were found on Diallo; instead, investigators determined that Diallo was reaching for his wallet.

A grand jury subsequently charged the 4 officers with second-degree murder and reckless endangerment, and the venue was moved to Albany, NY because the publicity in NYC would not have allowed for a fair trial.  The trial jury unanimously acquitted the officers of all counts, leading to weeks of protests and the arrest of over 1700 protestors, including former NYC mayor David Dinkins, Congressman Charlie Rangel, actress Susan Sarandon, among others.  Diallo’s family would sue the city of New York and the officers for $61 million; $20 million plus $1 million for each shot fired.  However, they would settle out of court for $3 million.  In the aftermath of the incident, the Street Crimes Unit was disbanded, and 3 of the 4 officers involved would leave the job, with the only exception being Kenneth Boss.  As of May 2007, Boss was still an employee of the NYPD, but he was not allowed to carry a gun, and was still fighting for the right to do so.

Unfortunately, Diallo is not the only person to fall victim to excessive force, and his mother has become a pundit of sorts whenever other such incidents occurs, such as the shooting of Sean Bell.  So, that begs the questions: is the United States a police state?  That answer seems painfully obvious when it seems as though the police exist to protect the state, and not the people (the protests after the incident came under just as heavy scrutiny as the incidents themselves).  What do you think?  Post your thoughts in the comments below.

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