Sharpeville Massacre — March 21, 1960
South African police shot at a crowd of Black anti-apartheid protesters, killing 69 and injuring over 180. Evidence showed that the police continued firing even when the crowd had turned to run, and the majority of those killed and wounded were shot in the back.
Jackson State killings — May 14, 1970
Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, and James Earl Green, 17, were shot and killed and 12 others injured as police attempted to disperse about 100 protesting Black students near the campus of Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Steve Biko — September 1977
Steve Biko, the anti-apartheid activist and leader of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, was arrested, tortured and beaten so badly by police that he fell into a coma. He died in police custody while being transported to another prison with hospital facilities. The police officers involved in Biko’s beatings were denied amnesty by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, but they were also never prosecuted.
Arthur McDuffie — Dec. 17, 1979
In Miami, insurance agent Arthur McDuffie was brutally beaten by police following an arrest for outstanding traffic violations. The officers involved were later found not guilty, leading to the Liberty City riot on May 8, 1980, one of the worst in U.S. history.
