Amadou Diallo was 23 and an immigrant from Guinea when he was shot and killed on the steps of his Bronx apartment building in the pre-dawn hours of February 4, 1999. He was unarmed, had no criminal record, and worked as a street vendor while saving for college. Four plainclothes NYPD Street Crime Unit officers — Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon, Kenneth Boss, and Richard Murphy — encountered him and later said they believed he matched a serial rapist’s description. As they approached, the officers shouted for him to show his hands; Diallo is believed to have reached into his pocket for his wallet, possibly thinking the men were muggers. One officer yelled Gun! and the four fired a total of 41 shots in seconds. Nineteen bullets struck Diallo, killing him almost instantly in the building vestibule.

The shooting provoked large protests and accusations of police brutality and racial profiling. The four officers were arrested and indicted on second-degree murder and reckless endangerment; their trial was moved to Albany and on February 25, 2000 a jury acquitted them of all charges. The family later settled a wrongful death suit with the city for $3 million, and the Street Crime Unit was disbanded. Does anyone have information or memories from that neighborhood or the events surrounding the protests?