On June 14, 2012, Shantel Davis, a 23-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot by New York City, New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Phil Atkins. She was unarmed, and her death occurred while the national discussion of police brutality was gaining publicity in the wake of similar killings. That debate led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement the following year. Just before her death, Davis ran several red lights and crashed the allegedly stolen car she was driving at an intersection in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Two plainclothes police officers saw Davis driving erratically and pursued her vehicle. Once her car came to a stop after colliding with a minivan, the officers got out of their car and approached on foot. Davis opened her passenger side door, knocking one officer to the ground. She then got back into the driver’s seat. Believing that Davis was trying to drive away, and with the car moving backwards, Detective Phil Atkins reached into her car and tried to shift it into park. While they struggled for control, Atkins shot her once in the chest. When the officers asked her to exit the car, she stumbled out while bleeding profusely onto the pavement in front … Continue reading Shantel Davis (1989-2012)