Police killings
2013-2020

James Joseph Byrd

Male, White

Date of the incident: 10/4/2015

Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Sepulveda Blvd and Victory Blvd

Two officers were stopped at a red light when the back window of their patrol car shattered. Fearing they were under fire, police said, the officers got out of the cruiser and fired their own guns at a nearby man they believed was responsible, killing him. When investigators searched his body and the nearby scene, they didn't find a gun or any other weapon. Instead, they determined he had shattered the patrol car's window by throwing a 40-ounce beer bottle.