Use of Force Deaths in
Austin, TX
Austin, TX
The following deaths of African-Americans and Latinos by white officers are controversial and reflect what the NAACP considers a racist pattern of behavior by Austin city police. Because of this pattern of police violence, the Austin Branch NAACP has filed two complaints (2004 and 2012) with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), invoking Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Read more about the complaints here.
Sophia King Jesse Lee Owens, Jr.
Kevin Brown Nathaniel Sanders
Byron Carter, Jr. Ahmede Jabbar Bradley
![]() May 30, 2011: Officer Nathan Wagner fatally shot Byron Carter Junior. Officer Wagner and Officer Jeffery Rodriguez followed Carter and his teenaged friend because they thought they were acting suspicious. Officer Wagner fired at their car after they sped off, fatally killing Carter, who was in the passenger seat. The unidentified teen was charged with assault on a police officer because his car struck Rodriguez as it lunged away; however, a grand jury completed its review of the incident and declined to indict the teen.
|
![]() April 5, 2012: Ahmede Bradley was shot by Officer Eric Copeland after fleeing on foot from the officer after a minor traffic violation, and then engaging in a violent struggle with him. The Austin Chronicle noted that the issue at hand "is whether Copeland should have pursued Bradley after pulling him over for only a minor traffic violation." It continued: "The decision to pursue a fleeing suspect when no apparent exigent circumstances were present was among the issues raised in the 2007 shooting of Kevin Brown."
|
Larry Jackson, Jr. David Joseph
Questionable Use of Force Deaths in Austin (1984-2020)
1984: Evans Ekiyue
1998: Rodney Wickware
1999: Johnny Cornell, Erik McDonald, Albert Juarez, Herbert Vences
2000: Steven Scott
2001: Jose Navarro, Joel Hernandez
2002: Sophia King
2003: Jessie Owens, Lennon Johnson
2005: Daniel Rocha, Michael Clark
2007: Kevin Brown
2009: Nathaniel Sanders, Jr.
2010: Devin Contreras
2011: Byron Carter, Jr.
2012: Ahmede Bradley
2013: Larry Jackson, Jr.
2016: David Joseph, Jr.
2017: Morgan Rankin
2017: Landon Nobles
2018: Aquantis Griffin