Deborah Danner (1950?-2016) was a mentally ill Black woman killed in her bedroom by New York police sergeant Hugh Barry on October 18th 2016. It was at 630 Pugsley Avenue in the Bronx, the very same block where Kerry Washington grew up.
The NYPD:
“The sergeant was able to engage the woman in dialogue and he was able to get the woman to drop the scissors.”
“She then grabbed a baseball bat. As the woman attempted to strike the sergeant he fired two shots at the woman from his service gun.”
Unlike most police killings, this one was quickly and roundly condemned by authorities:
Mayor Bill de Blasio:
“Deborah Danner should be alive right now, period. If the protocols had been followed, she would be alive. It’s as simple as that.”
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr:
“While I certainly understand the hard work that our police officers undertake to keep the streets of our city safe every single day, I also know what excessive force looks like. This elderly woman was known to the police department, yet the officer involved in this shooting failed to use discretion to either talk her down from her episode or, barring that, to use his stun gun.
“That is totally unacceptable.”
Police Commissioner James O’Neill:
“What is clear in this one instance, we failed. I want to know why it happened. We do have policies and procedures for handling emotionally disturbed people and it looks like some of those procedures weren’t followed.”
But Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins defended the shooting:
“They’re taking the weak political spot and blaming the sergeant for everything. I’m not surprised. [Mr de Blasio is] up for election next year.”
He said the mayor and the commissioner “rushed to judgement”, that the commissioner, who was sworn in just last month, is afraid to stand up to the mayor. He said Danner was a “good target”: the police are trained to shoot at people with bats.
Sgt Hugh Barry is White and has been on the police force eight years. He has had two police brutality lawsuits brought against him in the past. He is now on “modified duty” without a gun or badge while the police investigate themselves.
The case brings to mind Eleanor Bumpurs, a 69-year-old mentally ill Black woman shot dead by New York police in 1984. The officer was charged with manslaughter but was found not guilty.
Danner had schizophrenia. When she did not take her medicine, neighbours would hear her shouting like she was going to hurt someone. They would call the police, who would take her to the hospital.
In 2012 Danner wrote at length about her illness. Because of the stigma, people assume things that are not true, cutting her off from family and work and putting her in danger with the police:
“We are all aware of the all too frequent news stories about the mentalliy ill who come up against law enforcement instead of mental health professionals and end up dead.”
– Abagond, 2016.
See also:
- Deborah Danner: Living With Schizophrenia – PDF, 6 pages
- killer cops
- Alfred Olango – also killed by police because they did not properly deal with him as a psychiatric case
- Kenneth Chamberlain – also old, also needed to go to the hospital, also killed in his bedroom
- NYPD
- officers
- victims
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So a full grown man, a police officer nonetheless, can’t take a hit from a bat, and take it away from a woman. This is a crime and a shame!
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This is why I have been on my journey of working with those in need of mental health. Police are not the right people to call for them. Hell I would not call the police if I was being robbed at this point.
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R.I.P.
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She wrote an eloquent essay about living with schizophrenia and how the police should handle the mentally ill. She mentioned her fear of being killed by police and its eerie that the woman thing she was afraid became a reality. Surely this police officer could have deescalated this situation with a woman with a baseball bat. So this coward shots this poor woman and kills her. Cowardly racist terrorist in blue uniforms and badges and guns murdering elderly women. This is disgusting these cops are out of control.
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^^It’s eerie that the very thing she was afraid of being killed by police^^^
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They should have some crisis response team as this woman had a history or psychotic episodes. If they do have something like this, why weren’t they called in? She was familiar to police as they had taken her to the hospital before.
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This is so sad.
What I don’t get is even if you take an extremely unlikely worse case scenario and say this lady was bigger and stronger than the officer in question, why did he have to kill her? he could have shot her foot and put her out of action, Do they not carry CS gas? He could used that, it would have injured her but she would be alive, I accept that everyone has the right to defend themselves but to the degree of murdering a sick old lady is unjustifiable.
I That is if she really had a baseball bat at all, the lies the police have been proven to make and the unjustifiable murders lead me to question this ‘fact’.
Sweet dreams Deborah Danner.
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They’re taking the weak political spot and blaming the sergeant for everything. I’m not surprised. [Mr. de Blasio is] up for election next year.” – Ed Mullins
Really Ed! Mr. de Blasio wasn’t at location where the crime took place, but Sgt. Hugh Barry certainly was there in uniform and holding a service revolver.
He said, Danner was a “good target” and the commissioner rushed to judgment” the police are trained to shoot at people with bats. – Ed Mullins
Damn, you’re dumber than I first thought. Have you ever considered pursuing your G.E.D.?
The idiotic statements that come out of the mouths of police apologists and some District Attorney’s office is astoundingly imbecilic the majority of times after a shooting! My personal proposal to this Ed Mullins fellow is to rename his association to the following: Sergeants Malevolent Association. At least the title will generally be more consistent with police officers robotic behavior and there will be no surprises.
Rest in Peace Ms. Danner and may the good Lord (Yahawa) keep you!
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@blakksage
Good points.
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Note that the union vehemently defends the officer. Public unions are a giant problem generally — there are solid theoretical reasons why they are illogical and should be illegal — but in the case of the police, they are absolute despicable. My biggest issue with BLM is that its myopic focus on police use of force shifts the focus away from police abuse of authority, which is where the focus should lie. Further, the alignment between BLM and its allies, on the one hand, and the Democratic party, on the other, effectively quashes any real discussion about the role of public unions in exacerbating the problem. Thus, instead of using this time to advance a meaningful public discussion about police abuse of force as fostered and aided by their unions, we have a balkanized nation broken down, as is so often the case, along the lines of black/white. The irony is that the wingnut white Trump block, which calls itself “conservative” but is not truly conservative in any meaningful way, supports the police, and their union.
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This tragedy can be summed up into two words:
racism/white supremacy
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@Blanc2
” My biggest issue with BLM is that its myopic focus on police use of force shifts the focus away from police abuse of authority, which is where the focus should lie.”
How did you get the idea that Black Lives Matter is focused solely on any one aspect of police conduct?
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