Feb. 4 marked 25 years since Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, was killed in the Bronx in a hail of gunfire unleashed by four white plainclothes NYPD officers Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss, all of whom belonged to the now-disbanded NYPD Street Crime Unit.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, Diallo’s mother, Kadiatou Diallo, held a vigil in front of Amadou Diallo’s mural at 1177 Wheeler Ave. in the Bronx in her son’s memory. She was joined by faith leaders, community-based organizations, elected officials and family members of New Yorkers killed by the NYPD, including Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr; Anthony Baez’s mother, Iris Baez; Sean Bell’s mother, Valerie Bell; Anthony Rosario’s mother and Hilton Vega’s aunt, Margarita Rosario; Ramarley Graham’s mother, Constance Malcome; and Allan Feliz’s brother, Samy Feliz.
Shortly after midnight on Feb. 4, 1999, the NYPD officers were looking for a rape suspect in the Bronx and noticed Diallo, who was standing in the vestibule of his home on 1157 Wheeler Ave. The cops, who drove an unmarked car, approached Diallo and demanded he show his hands. Instead, Diallo, who was unarmed, reached for his pocket to pull out his wallet. The cops unleashed 41 rounds of bullets on Diallo, with 19 of them hitting Diallo, killing him within minutes. Later, the cops claimed that Diallo matched the subscription of the rape suspect and acted suspiciously, and they believed Diallo was reaching for a gun.
Diallo’s killing sparked massive protests across the city. The officers were charged with second-degree murder and reckless endangerment. Their trial was moved to Albany, where an almost all-white jury acquitted them of all charges.
Surrounded by the families who also lost their relatives to NYPD killings, Kadiatou Diallo described her firstborn as hard-working and educated — Amadou Diallo spoke five languages — and said he had planned to attend college with a goal of…
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