Police Brutality

These are some of countless examples of police attacking or murdering people of color and/or labor organizing. This list focuses on local and state police. There are many more cases that involve the U.S. National Guard and state militia. Read about the history of policing. See also a list of Massacres in U.S. History.

Sept. 14, 1941: Rally Against Police Brutality

Following years of organizing against police brutality, four marches from different points in the city of Washington, D.C. converged at 10th and U Streets NW.

May 30, 1937: Memorial Day Massacre

The Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago on Memorial Day.

July 28, 1932: Bonus Army Attacked

The U.S. government attacked an encampment of Black and white WWI veterans with tanks, bayonets, and tear gas.

Bisbee Arizona 1919 (photo) | Zinn Education Project

July 3, 1919: The Battle of Brewery Gulch

A battle between Black soldiers and the local white law enforcement who targeted them in Bisbee, Arizona during Red Summer.

April 13, 1919: Jenkins County Riot

A riot ensued after Louis Ruffin, an Army veteran, pulled out his gun to defend his family during an altercation between his father and two police officers.

Dec. 11, 1917: Black Soldiers Executed for Houston Riot

“The primary cause of the Houston riot was the habitual brutality of the white police officers of Houston in their treatment of colored people.” —The Crisis magazine.

Scene from the Memphis, Tenn., massacre | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

May 1 – 3, 1866: Memphis Massacre

White civilians and police killed 46 African Americans and injured many more while burning houses, schools, and churches in Memphis, Tennessee.