Shantel Davis was 23 when she was shot and killed on a June day in 2012 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Police say officers in plainclothes pursued a car they alleged was stolen after it ran red lights and collided with a minivan. Detectives Phil Atkins and Daniel Guida approached the vehicle on foot; police account reports that Davis tried to flee, Atkins reached into the car to shift it into park, and during a struggle his gun discharged once, striking Davis in the chest. She was unarmed and was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Atkins had previous lawsuits alleging excessive force and fabricating charges, with the city paying settlements, and nearby residents described him as frequently harassing young Black men. Davis’s family and community members protested the shooting as murder, saying she was trapped by the car’s deployed airbag and not attempting to flee. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office opened an inquiry and met with the family, but no charges were filed against Atkins and the family says they received no further updates.

Does anyone in East Flatbush remember the incident or have information that could shed light on what happened that day?