George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street; two other officers further restrained Floyd while a fourth prevented onlookers from intervening. During the final three minutes Floyd was motionless and had no pulse, but officers made no attempt to revive him and Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck even as arriving emergency medical technicians attempted to treat him.

Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was playing in a Cleveland park when a police cruiser pulled up. Within two seconds of getting out of his squad car, officer Timothy Loehmann shot the boy. Loehmann and another officer, Frank Garmback, had arrived in response to a 911 call in which someone told dispatchers a "juvenile" was "pulling a gun in and out of his pants and pointing it at people." The caller also expressed doubt that the gun was real. It was, in fact, a toy pellet gun. Rice died in hospital the next day.

On Sept. 6, 2018, Amber Guyger, an off-duty officer with the Dallas Police Department, walked into the apartment of Botham Jean and fatally shot him.

Twenty-four-year-old Jamar Clark was shot in the North Side area of Minneapolis around midnight on Nov. 15, 2015, after being confronted by two police officers. Clark died after being shot in the head by Officer Dustin Schwarze. There are conflicting reports about what happened. During the encounter, the other officer, Mark Ringgenberg, allegedly told Schwarze that Clark had reached for his service gun. Some witnesses, however, suggested Clark had been handcuffed.

Walter Scott was driving his vehicle in North Charleston, S.C., when a police officer, Michael Slager, pulled him over for a broken taillight. A bystander captured the ensuing events on cellphone video. While Slager was talking to Scott in a vacant lot, Scott started to run away. Slager fired eight shots and hit Scott five times, killing him.

Michael Brown, 18, and a friend were walking in the middle of a street in Ferguson, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, when police officer Darren Wilson drove by and asked them to use the sidewalk. What transpired next is still unclear, but Brown and Wilson scuffled while the officer was still inside his cruiser. Shots were fired from inside the vehicle. Brown then ran off. He was hit with six bullets in all and died at the scene.

Chicago police shot Bettie Jones in the neck "accidentally" while trying to help a neighbor deal with a domestic disturbance involving his son, Quintonio Legrier. The neighbor said he called police when his son tried to break his door down early in the morning, and that Jones was shot when she opened the door to direct officers when they arrived.

Michael, 32, was having a psychological breakdown and his mother requested an order of protection. Police said that when they arrived, Noel resisted arrest and could not be subdued after two Taser deployments. Noel's aunt said he was then shot in the chest. Two witnesses have said Michael Noel was unarmed with one handcuff around one wrist when he was shot.

Philando Castile, 32, was driving with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter when their car was pulled over by police in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn. One officer, Jeronimo Yanez, came over to the driver's side to tell Castile his brake lights were out and asked for his driver's licence and insurance. The other officer stood a ways back. During their exchange, Castile informed Yanez that he was carrying a gun legally. Yanez appeared to panic as Castile reached for his wallet and the officer shot seven times, hitting Castile with five bullets. Castile died in hospital 20 minutes later.