Killing of Amadou Diallo

| time = 12:40 AM EST | place = New York City, U.S. | coordinates = | cause = | participants = Edward McMellon
Sean Carroll
Kenneth Boss
Richard Murphy | type = Police killing, shooting | outcome = | reported deaths = Amadou Diallo | burial = | inquiries = | inquest = | coroner = | suspects = | charges = Second-degree murder
Reckless endangerment | verdict = Not guilty | litigation = Lawsuit filed against city and officers for $61 million; settled for $3 million
''Daniels, et al. v. the City of New York'' (class-action lawsuit) }}

In the early hours of February 4, 1999, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student named Amadou Diallo (born September 2, 1975) was struck with 19 of 41 rounds fired by four New York City Police Department plainclothes officers: Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon, and Kenneth Boss. Carroll later claimed to have mistaken Diallo for a rape suspect from one year earlier.

The four officers, who were part of the Street Crime Unit, which had expanded in size under mayor Rudy Giuliani, were charged with second-degree murder and acquitted at trial in Albany, New York. A firestorm of controversy erupted after the event, as the circumstances of the shooting prompted outrage both within and beyond New York City. Issues such as police brutality, racial profiling, and contagious shooting were central to the ensuing controversy. Provided by Wikipedia