On September 29, 2014, Rafael Laureano, a 51-year-old Hispanic father of four and bodybuilding enthusiast, was killed while trying to help a friend in distress in a Brooklyn apartment building. Laureano had gone to aid Kathy Russo after her ex-boyfriend, Francisco Carvajal, became violent and threatened Russo and her two young children. When police arrived at the seventh-floor apartment on Ocean Parkway, officers say Carvajal was armed with a knife and attempting to break into the bathroom where Russo and the children had taken refuge.

Once inside, Laureano rushed toward Carvajal despite a sergeant’s attempt to restrain him. Officers opened fire as Carvajal advanced with the knife; both Carvajal and Laureano were fatally wounded. Initial reports suggested Laureano had been stabbed, but the medical examiner later found he had been killed by a single police bullet to the back. Laureano’s family later sued the city, alleging negligence for allowing a civilian to be involved; the case settled in June 2017 for $1.6 million.