On the evening of July 17, 2015, a routine traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, ended with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart. Officer Connor Schilling pulled over a car for a broken headlight; Stewart was a passenger. Schilling ran Stewart’s identification and found two out-of-state juvenile warrants, then placed Stewart in the back of his patrol car without handcuffs. Schilling says that when he tried to handcuff Stewart the teen became combative, kicked the door into him, gained control of the handcuffs and struck him, and that Schilling fired his service weapon in fear for his life.

Eyewitnesses described a different sequence, saying Stewart appeared to be attempting to flee and one witness reported hearing him say he couldn’t breathe just before shots were fired. The autopsy found two gunshot wounds, one entering the upper right chest and another through the inner left arm into the chest, with shots fired from no more than four feet away.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reviewed the shooting. Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich recommended voluntary manslaughter charges but a grand jury declined to indict. The U.S. Department of Justice later reviewed the case and announced in September 2016 it would not bring federal charges. Stewart’s family has pursued civil litigation and publicly urged a re-examination of the case.

If anyone witnessed the July 17, 2015 stop or has information about what happened that night, please share details with the forum.