List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, January 2021

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This is a list of people reported killed by non-military law enforcement officers in the United States in January 2021, whether in the line of duty or not, and regardless of reason or method. The listing documents the occurrence of a death, making no implications regarding wrongdoing or justification on the part of the person killed or officer involved. Killings are arranged by date of the incident that caused death. Different death dates, if known, are noted in the description. The table below lists 23 people.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.


January 2021[edit]

Date Name (age) of deceased Race State (city) Description
2021-01-27 Randy Miller (55) Black California (Los Angeles) Miller was armed with a knife and assaulting his girlfriend inside a vehicle when he was shot dead by police.[1]
2021-01-27 Erick Mejia (26) Hispanic Texas (San Antonio) An officer inspecting 18-wheelers pulled Mejia over, and Mejia fled on foot. At a mall parking lot, video captured by a witness showed Mejia with a gun he refused to drop. He was shot when he raised the gun at officers.[2]
2021-01-27 Kevin Levira Desir (43) Black Florida (Pompano Beach) While in custody at Broward County Jail in Pompano Beach, Desir cut himself and was placed in a restraint chair, where he "attempted to kick staff and defeat all efforts to be restrained for his own safety". Desir lost consciousness and died ten days later in hospital.[3]
2021-01-26 Felix Santos (48) Hispanic Texas (San Antonio) Santos was shot and killed by police after a car chase. Santos allegedly exited his vehicle and fired at Bexar County Sheriff's deputies, leading them to shoot back.[4]
2021-01-21 David McFarlane (51) Black New York (New York City) In the Wakefield neighborhood of The Bronx, a police sergeant and detective observed a man later identified as 51-year old David McFarlane chasing a woman with a knife, the officers approached the individual and the individual ran at the officer with the knife. Officers fired 5-6 shots at individual.[5]
2021-01-21 David Lee Tovar Jr. (27) Black California (San Jose) Tovar Jr., allegedly connected to several violent offenses, ran from police and was given multiple commands to show his hands. He was shot by police after reaching into his waistband to pull out what looked like a gun. However, Tovar had been unarmed.[6]
2021-01-19 Christopher Austin Dockery (32) White Colorado (Greeley) Dockery eluded police attempting to pull him over. An ensuing car chase ended in a car crash; Dockery attempted a carjacking, armed with a handgun; he was fatally shot after refusing to comply with police demands to surrender. At the time of his death, Dockery was on parole (having been released from prison in September 2020) and had active felony kidnapping, menacing and robbery warrants arising from an incident on January 5.[7]
2021-01-18 Christopher Anderson (27) Black Ohio (Toledo) During a police standoff, Anderson came running out of a house in which he had barricaded himself, firing at police and shooting one fatally. Officers returned fire, hitting him 8 times and killing him.[8]
2021-01-17 Zonterius Johnson (24) Black Oklahoma (Lawton) Police were conducting a compliance check at a lounge when they heard shots fired outside. When police encountered Johnson, he faced an officer and drew the weapon. He was ordered to drop the weapon, and was shot by police.[9]
2021-01-15 Reginald Johnson (48) Black Mississippi (Biloxi) Police responded to a disturbance outside Harrison County Courthouse, where Johnson displayed a knife and advanced on a deputy, who then shot and killed him.[10]
2021-01-13 Lymond Moses (30) Black Delaware (Wilmington) Police body cam video shows Moses driving away from police in his vehicle, making a U-turn, and then driving toward police at a high speed. Police then fired on his vehicle.[11]
2021-01-10 Allen Mirzayan (48) White California (Altadena) Shot by law enforcement near 481 Figueroa Drive.[12]
2021-01-10 Patrick Warren Sr. (52) Black Texas (Killeen) During a mental health call Warren exited his house waving his arms and approached an officer, who shouted for Warren to stop and stay down. The officer tasered Warren, who then charged at the officer and was shot. Warren was unarmed during the shooting.[13]
2021-01-09 Jason Nightengale (32) Black Illinois (Evanston) Nightengale was shot and killed by Evanston Police after killing five and injuring two in a mass shooting in Chicago and Evanston.[14]
2021-01-08 Brian Andren (47) White Minnesota (Robbinsdale) The Robbinsdale Police Department tried to stop a vehicle that was registered to an individual with an active felony warrant. The vehicle was stopped by police using a PIT maneuver. The driver, Andren, charged at officers with a knife. After unsuccessfully attempting to tase him, one officer shot Andren as he continued to advance.[15][16]
2021-01-08 Kwamena Ocran (24) Black Maryland (Gaithersburg) Four Gaithersburg Police Department plain clothes officers approached Ocran after a report of a man with a handgun. Ocran fled and was chased by police, who shot him dead when he displayed his gun.[17]
2021-01-06 Ashli Babbitt (35) White Washington, D.C. During the storming of the United States Capitol, Babbitt, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer inside the Capitol building, as she and more than a dozen other pro-Donald Trump rioters attempted to gain access to a hallway leading to the House chamber.[18][19][20][21]
2021-01-06 Benicio Vasquez (34) Hispanic Connecticut (Hartford) An FBI task force was arresting a suspect in the North End neighborhood when another man, Vasquez, allegedly opened fire on them. An FBI agent and a New Britain Police officer returned fire, killing Vasquez. The New Britain officer had been involved in a separate shooting in 2017, in which the officer was cleared of wrongdoing.[22]
2021-01-06 Robert Howard Black Tennessee (Memphis) A Memphis Police officer was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering Howard while on-duty. Howard's brother said that Howard was dating a woman who used to be in a relationship with the officer.[23]
2021-01-05 Alex Gonzales (27) Black Texas (Austin) Off-duty Austin police officer Gabriel Gutierrez shot Gonzales after he claimed Gonzales cut him off in traffic and pointed a gun at him. Austin police officers yelled at Gonzales to get on the ground, but Gonzales, bleeding, ignored the calls as he moved to check on his 2-month-old child. Austin police officers then shot Gonzales 10 times.[24][25][26]
2021-01-05 Jamal Sutherland Black South Carolina (North Charleston) While attempting to remove Sutherland from a jail cell for a bond hearing, a Charleston County Sheriff's deputy deployed a stun gun after Sutherland resisted. After being stunned multiple times, Sutherland became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.[27][28]
2021-01-03 James Reising (59) White Missouri (Jefferson City) Missouri state troopers say Reising raised a large knife at them. Reising allegedly refused commands to drop it, leading the troopers to shoot.[29]
2021-01-02 Anthony Cano (17) Latino Arizona (Chandler) An officer attempted to pull Cano over when he abandoned his bicycle and ran towards a park. According to police Cano dropped a gun but reached towards it, causing the officer to shoot. Cano died on January 23.[30]

See also[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Lists of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States § See also.[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Man Armed With Knife Fatally Shot By Police In South LA ID'd". Patch. January 31, 2021.
  2. ^ Salinas, Rebecca (2021-01-29). "Man killed in SAPD shooting outside South Park Mall identified by authorities". KSAT. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  3. ^ Finnie, Andrea Torres, Alex (2021-02-05). "State Attorney asks FDLE to allow independent probe into Kevin Desir's death". WPLG. Retrieved 2021-03-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Ibañez, David; Massey, Max (2021-01-27). "Man shot by Bexar County deputies after highway chase has died". KSAT. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  5. ^ Crockett, Corey (2021-01-21). "Police shoot, kill man in Bronx that ran at officers with knife, NYPD says". PIX 11. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  6. ^ "'Person of interest' in Gilroy homicide was unarmed when SJ police killed him". Bay City News Foundation. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  7. ^ Greeley man out on parole identified as deceased in Greeley police officer-involved shooting, Greeley Tribune (January 22, 2021).
  8. ^ Seewer, John (2021-01-20). "Chief: Man who killed officer had vowed not to go to jail". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  9. ^ Burk, Jarred. "UPDATE: LPD says they will be releasing body camera footage of shooting". www.kswo.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  10. ^ WLOX Staff. "New details released in fatal deputy-involved shooting at Biloxi courthouse". www.wlbt.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  11. ^ "Family of man Lymond Moses, man shot by police in Delaware, still seeking answers". ABC 6. April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  12. ^ "Allen Mirzayan, 48 - The Homicide Report". LA Times. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Brooks, Jacob; King, Hunter (January 19, 2021). "KPD releases police body cam video; Chief addresses mental health training, Tasers". Killeen Daily Herald.
  14. ^ Palmer, Ewan (2021-01-08). "Gunman Kills Four, Including Student, in Shooting Rampage Near Chicago". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  15. ^ "VIDEO: Felony suspect shot, killed after armed confrontation with Robbinsdale police". KSTP. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  16. ^ "Man Fatally Shot By Robbinsdale Police Identified as Brian Andren". WCCO. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  17. ^ Franklin, Jonathan (January 9, 2021). "Police: Gaithersburg officers fatally shoot armed man; no officers injured". WUSA 9.
  18. ^ Jon Swaine, Dalton Bennett, Joyce Sohyun Lee and Meg Kelly (January 8, 2021). "Video shows fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt in the Capitol". Washington Post.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Ellen Barry, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Dave Philipps (January 8, 2021). "Woman Killed in Capitol Embraced Trump and QAnon". New York Times.
  20. ^ Catherine Stinton (January 12, 2021). "Capitol riots: Ashli Babbitt and the far-right radicalisation of women". The Conversation.
  21. ^ "Investigative Report Concerning the Use of Force (Glock 22 .40 caliber service pistol) by United States Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd" (PDF). Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia Internal Affairs Bureau. June 16, 2021. p. 240, 524. Retrieved March 30, 2023. Recovered a 'Para Force' folding knife in Ms. Babbitt's pants pocket;
  22. ^ Collins, Dave (January 8, 2021). "Officer involved fatal shooting was cleared in 2017 killing". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  23. ^ "Family of man allegedly kidnapped and murdered by MPD officer speaks out". WREG.com. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  24. ^ "Alex Gonzales Police Shooting Body Camera 'Heartbreaking and Tragic', Family's Attorney Says After Release". Newsweek. 2021-04-28.
  25. ^ "Driver who cut off, pointed gun at off-duty APD officer shot and killed by Austin Police". 2021-04-28.
  26. ^ "Family remembers man fatally shot by Austin Police". 2021-04-28.
  27. ^ "Video Body camera video shows in-custody death of Black man". ABC News.
  28. ^ "Body camera footage shows 'horrific' in-custody death of Black man at South Carolina jail". ABC News.
  29. ^ Ragsdale, Matt (January 4, 2021). "Columbia man killed in Jefferson City officer-involved shooting". Abc17News. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  30. ^ Miller, Bailey (26 May 2022). "Anthony Cano: Maricopa County won't file charges in deadly 2021 police shooting of teen, family says". FOX 10 Phoenix. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
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