List of cases of police brutality
Encyclopedia
This list compiles incidents of police brutality
that have garnered significant media and/or historical attention.
Police brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
that have garnered significant media and/or historical attention.
2010–present
- July 09, 2011 The United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
human rights office expressed disappointment on the use of excessive force by the police against peaceful protestors in the Bersih 2.0 rallyBersih 2.0 rallyThe Bersih 2.0 rally was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur held on 9 July 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections , was supported by Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was...
, which organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BersihBersihThe Coalition for Free and Fair Elections or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations with the aim of revising the current electoral system to ensure fair elections in Malaysia.-2007 Bersih rally:...
) calling for electoral reform in Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia. - June 06, 2011 22-year-old Martin Neshkovski was beaten to death by Igor Spasov, a member of the special police unit Tigers, in the center of SkopjeSkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
during the celebration of the ruling party’s VMRO-DPMNE election victory, supposedly because he wanted to climb on stage and congratulate the Prime Minister Nikola GruevskiNikola GruevskiNikola Gruevski has been Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia since 27 August 2006. He has led VMRO-DPMNE since May 2003. He was Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubčo Georgievski until September 2002.- Personal life :...
personally. After an unsuccessful attempt by the Macedonian institutions to cover up the murder, which was followed by two day demonstrations in Skopje, Spasov admitted the murder. Protesters kept on protesting every day starting at 18.00h demanding bigger control over special police unit members and political and moral responsibility a.k.a resignation of the Minister of Interior, Gordana Jankuloska, and the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, Ivo Koteski. - Dec 27, 2010 A 24-year old man was brought to the police station in ÅlesundÅlesundis a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
for protective custody after drunk and disorderly conduct. While still in handcuffs, he was beaten by a senior police officer. While being brought to a holding cell he was beaten and subjected to strangulating force by the same officer. The incident was fully taped by the stations own surveillance cameras. In sept 2011, the officer was convicted to 30 days in prison and a fine of 10.000 NOK, but were allowed to keep his position as a police officer. - Jan 22, 2010. Yao Wei Wu was beaten by officers from Vancouver Police DepartmentVancouver Police DepartmentThe Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...
who knocked on the wrong door while investigating a report of a violent domestic dispute. Speaking through a translator, Yao Wei Wu told CBC News that as soon as he opened the door the officers pulled him out of the house and beat him.
2000–2009
- April 1, 2009. Passing through the G20 summit protests in London, Ian TomlinsonDeath of Ian TomlinsonIan Tomlinson was an English newspaper vendor who collapsed and died in the City of London after coming into contact with the police while on his way home from work during the 2009 G-20 summit protests. A first postmortem examination indicated he had suffered a heart attack and had died of natural...
was struck in the back of his legs and pushed to the ground by a police constable with the Territorial Support GroupTerritorial Support GroupThe Territorial Support Group is a Central Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service consisting of 720 officers, that specialises in public order containment among other specialist policing. The TSG is a uniformed unit of the MPS that replaced the controversial Special Patrol Group...
in South London. He died soon afterwards. The initial police statement said that police had been alerted that a man had collapsed, and were attacked by "a number of missiles" as they tried to save his life. Several videos from citizen passersby surfaced about one week after the incident and sparked public outcry. The officer has been interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter. - December 6, 2008. 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot dead by police officer Epaminondas Korkoneas shortly after 9 p.m. in the ExarcheiaExarcheiaExarcheia, alternatively spelled as Exarchia, Exarheia and Exarhia , is the name of a neighborhood in downtown Athens, Greece close to the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens. The Exarcheia region is famous as a stomping ground for Greek anarchists...
district of Athens, Greece. Demonstrations and riots erupted throughout Athens almost immediately after the shooting, sparking weeks of civil unrest and workplace and university occupations throughout GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and beyond. - September 7, 2006. Eugene Ejike Obiora, a Nigerian-Norwegian student was killed during an arrest where Obiora had behaved aggressively toward personnel at the social services office in TrondheimTrondheimTrondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. Obiora died enroute to a hospital after police officer Trond Volden strangled him in the subsequent struggle. Volden and three other officers were processed for use of force but were cleared by the police investigators and the chief prosecutor. Volden had earlier been videotaped, but cleared of charges, when harassing and strangling a Ghani-Norwegian woman in 1999.http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/trondheim/article718331.ecehttp://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/kvinna/0004/03/sophia.html - July 2006. Footage shown at her trial showed 19–year–old Toni Comer being repeatedly punched, kicked and dragged to a waiting police van in Sheffield in 2006.
1990–1999
- January 3, 1998. Six policemen from the North East Rand Dog Unit set their dogsPolice dogA police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
on three suspected illegal immigrantIllegal immigrationIllegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
s, allowing the animals to attack the three men as the officers shouted racial insults. The incident was caught on video and televised nationally by the South African Broadcasting CorporationSouth African Broadcasting CorporationThe South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
on Nov. 7, 2000, causing widespread outrage. All six policemen were ultimately sentenced to jail terms of between four and five years each. - September 7, 1995. Dudley George, an OjibwaOjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
protestor, was shot and killed by Ontario Provincial PoliceOntario Provincial PoliceThe Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
Sergeant Kenneth Deane near Ipperwash Provincial ParkIpperwash Provincial ParkIpperwash Provincial Park is a provincial park on the shores of southern Lake Huron in Lambton County, Ontario.Located near Grand Bend, the 56 hectare, or , park was established in 1936. It contains a long sandy beach on the lakeshore, as well as rare flowers and sand dunes...
in OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1995 during the Ipperwash CrisisIpperwash CrisisThe Ipperwash Crisis was an Indigenous land dispute that took place in Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario in 1995. Several members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park in order to assert their claim to nearby land which had been expropriated from them during World War II...
. Sergeant Deane was later convicted of criminal negligenceCriminal negligenceIn the criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of mens rea element required to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability offense. It is defined as an act that is:-Concept:...
causing death.
Before 1990
- 1977. Steve BikoSteve BikoStephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
is widely believed to have been killed by police as a result of anti-apartheid demonstrations in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. - 14–15 August 1969: During the 1969 Northern Ireland riots1969 Northern Ireland RiotsDuring 12–17 August 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intense political and sectarian rioting. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to government discrimination against Irish Catholics and nationalists...
, the Royal Ulster ConstabularyRoyal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
(RUC) shot dead five Catholic civilians and opened-fire on crowds of Irish nationalist protesters. - 13 July 1969 in DungivenDungivenDungiven is a small town and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the main A6 Belfast to Derry road. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the Benbradagh. Nearby is the Glenshane Pass, where the road rises to over...
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Catholic civilian Francis McCloskey (67) was beaten with batons by Royal Ulster ConstabularyRoyal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
(RUC) officers during street disturbances and died of his injuries the following day. He is sometimes deemed to be the first death of "The TroublesThe TroublesThe Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
". - 19 April 1969 in DerryDerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. During rioting between Irish nationalists and the Royal Ulster ConstabularyRoyal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
(RUC), RUC officers broke into the home of Catholic civilian Samuel Devenny (42), who was not involved in the riots. The officers kicked Devenny and beat him ferociously with batons. His young daughter (who was recovering from surgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
) and a family friend were beaten unconscious. His older daughter and son were also attacked. It is believed that the attack led to Devenny's death on 17 July 1969. - 17 October 1961. The French police attacked a large demonstration of unarmed and peaceful protesters of AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n origin, killing between 70 and 200 (numbers are uncertain, partly because many were drowned after being thrown into the SeineSeineThe Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
with their hands tied), in the Paris massacre of 1961Paris massacre of 1961The Paris massacre of 1961 was a massacre in Paris on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War . Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French police attacked a demonstration of some 30,000 pro-FLN Algerians...
. - 21 March 1960. South African police shot at a crowd of black anti-apartheid protesters, killing 69 and injuring over 180 in what became known as the Sharpeville massacreSharpeville massacreThe Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...
. Evidence showed that the police continued firing even when the crowd had turned to run, and the majority of those killed and wounded were shot in the back. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission later concluded that the police actions constituted "gross human rights violations in that excessive force was unnecessarily used to stop a gathering of unarmed people." (see Sharpeville massacreSharpeville massacreThe Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...
article for sourcing). - 01 April 1922: The Arnon Street killings in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Ten officers of the Ulster Special ConstabularyUlster Special ConstabularyThe Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...
(USC) broke into a number of Irish CatholicIrish CatholicIrish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
-owned homes and killed six Catholic civilians (including a child). This was believed to have been a reprisal for the IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
's killing of a policeman in the area. - 24 March 1922: The McMahon murdersMcMahon MurdersThe McMahon murders occurred on 24 March 1922 in Belfast, Northern Ireland when six Catholic civilians were shot dead and two injured by members of the Ulster Special Constabulary or Royal Irish Constabulary . The dead were aged between 15 and 50 and all but one were members of the McMahon family....
in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Officers of the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) broke into a house owned by an Irish Catholic family and shot all eight males inside. Six were killed. It is believed to have been a reprisal for the IRA's killing of two policemen the day before. - 21 November 1920: The Croke Park massacre in Dublin, Ireland. Royal Irish ConstabularyRoyal Irish ConstabularyThe armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) officers opened-fire on civilians who were watching a Gaelic footballGaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
match in Croke ParkCroke ParkCroke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
; 14 were killed and 60–70 wounded. The attack was believed to be revenge for an IRA assassination operation earlier in the day. - 22 September 1920: In reprisal for an ambushRineen AmbushThe Rineen Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 22 September 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place at Dromin Hill in the townland of Rineen, County Clare....
by the IRA, Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers killed 5 civilians and burnt 16 houses/shops in west County ClareCounty Clare-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, Ireland.
Pending investigations
The investigations into these cases have not been completed. Parties involved in each case may or may not be exonerated by the investigation.- 62 protesters were hospitalized (including three comatose) after a brutal night-time raid on the Diaz school in GenoaGenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
where protesters were bedding down during the 27th G8 summit27th G8 summit-Overview:The Group of Seven was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition...
. In an ongoing trial (expected to conclude in 2008), twenty-eight Italian police officers are indicted for grievous bodily harm, planting evidence and wrongful arrest. A further 45 state officials, including police officers, prison guards, and doctors, are charged with physically and mentally abusing demonstrators and journalists held in a detention centre in the nearby town of BolzanetoBolzanetoBolzaneto is a quarter of the city of Genoa, in northwest Italy, and is part of the Municipality Valpolcevera of Genoa.-Geography:Bolzaneto was once a hamlet located outside of the city limits in the Polcevera valley, but in the recent centuries it became an industrial area...
.
- October 14, 2007. Robert DziekańskiRobert Dziekanski Taser incidentRobert Dziekański was a Polish immigrant to Canada who died on October 14, 2007, after being tasered five times by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Vancouver International Airport....
, a Polish immigrant arriving at the Vancouver International AirportVancouver International AirportVancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...
, died after being taserTaserA Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
ed multiple times and four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) crowded on top of Dziekański. "The 40-year-old Dziekanski had been at the airport for about 10 hours and, unable to speak English, became confused and agitated while waiting for his mother to meet him."
- Ian TomlinsonDeath of Ian TomlinsonIan Tomlinson was an English newspaper vendor who collapsed and died in the City of London after coming into contact with the police while on his way home from work during the 2009 G-20 summit protests. A first postmortem examination indicated he had suffered a heart attack and had died of natural...
, a bystander to the 2009 G-20 London summit protests2009 G-20 London summit protestsThe 2009 G-20 London summit protests occurred in the days around the G-20 summit on 2 April 2009, which was the focus of protests from a number of groups over various long-standing and topical issues...
on 1 April 2009, was pushed to the ground and beaten by a police officer. He later died of disputed causes. The case is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints CommissionIndependent Police Complaints CommissionThe Independent Police Complaints Commission is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.-Role:...
.