,

Cases of Excessive Force Where Officers Walked Away Free

Most recently, the officer shot and killed Amir Locke will not be facing criminal charges.

Since the summer of 2020, when we saw an overwhelming number of police brutality cases, the officers accused of using excessive or deadly force against Black people have rarely been charged. FiveThiryEight found only 110 officers nationwide have been charged with murder in an on-duty shooting yet 1,000 people are shot and killed by police every year. A Washington Post database found 14 Black people have died by police shooting this year.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion
Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion

Though the officers who killed George Floyd were brought to justice, other families must live with the fact the officers who shot and killed their loved ones have not been held accountable for their actions. Some investigations are still pending, but below are the most recent incidents of officers escaping criminal charges.

Breonna Taylor

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] New York Times

Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville police officers in the middle of night after her boyfriend Kenneth Williams fired a warning shot at the apartment entrance, thinking they were intruders. One officer, Brett Hankison, was acquitted from his charge of wanton endangerment. The other officers were not charged, reported CNN.

Jacob Blake

Jacob Blake speaks out about shooting, decision not to charge Kenosha police officer. Photo: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] ABC7 Chicago

Blake, was shot in the back by Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey while resisting arrest and reportedly charging toward him with a knife. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down as a result. Federal prosecutors decided not to file charges against Sheskey, reported AP News.

Antwon Rose II

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] Nicole Nesby/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Antwon Rose II, 17, was shot and killed by Officer Michael Rosfeld during a traffic stop. Rosfeld faced one criminal homicide charge in addition to first- and third-degree murder and manslaughter, but a jury found Rosfeld not guilty, per CNN.

Keevin Robinson

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] Keevin Robinson family attorney

Robinson, 22, died in police custody after being chased by officers in a narcotics trafficking investigation. The coroner deemed his caused of death as a homicide. No charges were brought against the officers but Robinsonโ€™s family reached a settlement of over $300,000 with the sheriffโ€™s office, reported Fox8Live News.

Cedric Lofton

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] KWCH12

Lofton, 17, died in police custody after being handcuffed and restrained lying face down for 30 minutes. The Kansas district attorney cited the โ€œstand your groundโ€ law to justify not charging the officers in connected to Loftonโ€™s death, reported CNN.

Amir Locke

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] ABC News

Locke, 22, was shot and killed by Minneapolis SWAT officers during a no-knock search warrant raid. Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges against Officer Mark Hanneman, the officer who shot Locke, reported AP News.

Kisha Michael and Marquintan Sandlin

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] Facebook

Inglewood police officers shot and killed the couple while they were in their car after being found unconscious. The officers said they thought the two were reaching for a firearm. The Los Angeles district attorney said there was probably cause to believe the officers feared for their life and declined to file charges against them, reported NBC Los Angeles.

Jim Rogers

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] CBS Pittsburgh

Jim Rogers, 54, was tased 10 times by Pittsburgh police officers as they tried to arrest him for an alleged theft of a bicycle. He died at the hospital the next day of lack of oxygen to the brain, reported WTAE. Three of the five officers involved have been reinstated to their jobs. A jury is deciding on whether they could face criminal charges.

John Neville

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] WXII 12

Neville, 56, died in police custody after deputies held him on his stomach, pulling his arms behind his back and raising his legs to his wrists, causing him to have trouble breathing. None of the deputies have been charged, reported News&Observer.

Byron Williams

Screenshot: [{'styles': [], 'value': 'Fair Use', 'type': 'Text'}] Nevada Current

Williams died in Las Vegas police custody as a result of being handcuffed and prone out on his stomach. He signaled to officers 24 times he could not breathe. The Clark County district attorneyโ€™s office found no โ€œcriminal prosecutionโ€ of the officers involved would be โ€œappropriate,โ€ reported KTNV Las Vegas.

Straight From The Root

Sign up for our free daily newsletter.

Latest from The Root

How A Black Woman Said This and Got 1 Million Tiktok Followers And Started a Hilarious Movement

How A Black Woman Said This and Got 1 Million Tiktok Followers And Started a Hilarious Movement

Melani Sanders is here to let the world know that women dealing with perimenopause and menopause have zero Fs left to give ...
How Diddy Could Win His Case

How Diddy Could Win His Case

The Root has been following Diddy's case closely. Here's an analysis on whether he could walk free ...

Anna Wintour Exits Vogue While A Black Editor Awaits The Call

Anna Wintour Exits Vogue While A Black Editor Awaits The Call

Black Editors Are Rising โ€” Will Vogue Catch Up? ...
Porsha Williams, Ex-Husband Simon Guobadia Get <i>Super</i> Messy With Each Other in New Interviews

Porsha Williams, Ex-Husband Simon Guobadia Get Super Messy With Each Other in New Interviews

The former couple is now breaking their silence after their divorce and they're not mincing words! ...
Supermodel Anok Yai Looked Stunning and Different at Paris Fashion Week

Supermodel Anok Yai Looked Stunning and Different at Paris Fashion Week

All eyes were on the gorgeous supermodel at the Louis Vuitton SS26 menswear runway show ...
Jasmine Crockett Says What We've All Been Thinking About Melania Trump's U.S. Citizenship

Jasmine Crockett Says What We’ve All Been Thinking About Melania Trump’s U.S. Citizenship

If you let Rep. Crockett tell it, the Trump administration has a "lack of integrity" when it comes to favoritism-- as evident by Melania Trump's visa history ...
Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion

Walter Davis On Building a Black-Owned Bank From Zero to $2 billion

From running a $75 billion portfolio to founding the largest Black-owned bank, Walter Davis shares hard-earned lessons on power, profit, and purpose ...
What Police Claimed This Woman Did After Killing Toddler is Just Diabolic

What Police Claimed This Woman Did After Killing Toddler is Just Diabolic

Suad Ali will spend 12 years in prison after her horrid act against humanity.ย  ...
Tina Knowles' Instagram Tribute to Solange Will Have You Scrambling For Tissue

Tina Knowles’ Instagram Tribute to Solange Will Have You Scrambling For Tissue

Mompreneur Tina Knowles shared a beautiful birthday tribute to her youngest daughter on Instagram ...
Why Black Folks Were Never Truly 'Woke,' Explained

Why Black Folks Were Never Truly ‘Woke,’ Explained

The idea of wokeness has been around since the early 1900s. History shows we were never truly there ...
Tyler Perry Accuser Christian Keyes Breaks His Silence, But It's Not What You Think

Tyler Perry Accuser Christian Keyes Breaks His Silence, But It’s Not What You Think

The popular Tyler Perry star is back on Instagram Live again and telling fans more unfortunate news ...
Why Beyoncรฉโ€™s Bag Placement Crossed a Southern American Superstition and Left Black Women in Shock

Why Beyoncรฉโ€™s Bag Placement Crossed a Southern American Superstition and Left Black Women in Shock

Beyoncรฉ showed up to Pharrellโ€™s Louis Vuitton menswear show in Paris looking like money. But when she placed her purse on the ground, the internet immediately stopped scrolling. The shocking placement sparked a wave of Black girl side-eyes, superstitious callouts, and recalling generational warnings. Put your purse on the ground, ...
This Jacksonville Deputy Tased His Partner in His Hindquarters on Camera, Here's What Happened Next

This Jacksonville Deputy Tased His Partner in His Hindquarters on Camera, Here’s What Happened Next

"The incident is unfortunate, but in the heat of the moment is always a potential while we are taking combative subjects into custody," a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman said ...
The Devastating Reason This MLB Player Broke Down in Tears Mid Game

The Devastating Reason This MLB Player Broke Down in Tears Mid Game

Players and coaches rushed to console Arizona Diamondbacks player Ketel Marte after he was seen with tears rolling down his face mid game ...
Republicans Spent Decades Laying the Groundwork for Trumpโ€™s 'Big Beautiful Bill,' But You'll Be Surprise Who It Hurts Most

Republicans Spent Decades Laying the Groundwork for Trumpโ€™s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ But You’ll Be Surprise Who It Hurts Most

Republicans have laid the groundwork for this bill for years before it had a name, but the hook is it doesn't just harm poor Black Americans ...
DDG Scores This Rare Win in Custody Battle With Halle Bailey

DDG Scores This Rare Win in Custody Battle With Halle Bailey

Bailey and DDG have been embroiled in a legal back and forth over their child for months ...
Highlights From Pharrell Williams' Star-Studded Louis Vuitton Menswear Show in Paris

Highlights From Pharrell Williams’ Star-Studded Louis Vuitton Menswear Show in Paris

All eyes were on Paris as the stars came out to check out Pharrell Williams and the Louis Vuitton SS26 menswear collection ...
MAGA Trolls are Attacking Disney's 'Ironheart,' But Here's How Black Internet Is Fighting Back

MAGA Trolls are Attacking Disney’s ‘Ironheart,’ But Here’s How Black Internet Is Fighting Back

What should've been a momentous occasion for the MCU turned into an ugly online spat thanks to some racists ...
Girl, Bye...Candace Owens' Latest Assessment of Trump Will Make You Roll Your Eyes

Girl, Bye…Candace Owens’ Latest Assessment of Trump Will Make You Roll Your Eyes

The controversial podcast host is an avid Trump supporter, but since his White House return, Owens has slowly moved away from him ...
Why Black-Owned Businesses Face Bigger Risks in a Global Trade War

Why Black-Owned Businesses Face Bigger Risks in a Global Trade War

Marketplaceโ€™s Kimberly Adams breaks down how tariffs, inflation, and politics hit Black-owned businesses hardest ...