August 1, 2016: 23-year-old Korryn Gaines is shot to death after a 6-hour police standoff.
According to her autopsy, Gaines was shot on the left side of her chest, the left side of her back, her right arm, her left wrist and forearm, with an additional graze wound to the right thigh.
Her 5-year old son, Kodi, suffered a gunshot wound to the face that wasn't life-threatening.
BACKGROUND:
In March 2016, the police forcibly removed Gaines, pinned her to the ground and handcuffed her during a traffic stop.
Gaines suffered a miscarriage after her arrest in March and felt it was her encounter with police that caused it.
THE SHOOTING:
The Baltimore County Police Department, officers sought to serve Gaines a warrant for the traffic violation in March.
The shooting was not recorded as officers were not wearing police bodycams.
Upon police request, Facebook deactivated Gaines' Facebook and Instagram accounts, leading to criticism of the company's involvement in the incident
Gaines' mother was at the scene before the fatal shooting, however, she stated she was not allowed to intervene in the standoff, though she had pleaded to negotiate to end the confrontation.
AFTERMATH:
Activists have called for protests under the "Say Her Name" banner, noting that Black women who are killed by police receive less media attention than Black males.
Gaines was the 9th Black woman to be killed by police in the United States in 2016.
LAWSUIT:
In 2018, a jury awarded the Gaines family $38 million in damages after finding that the 1st shot fired by Royce Ruby and killing Gaines, was not reasonable, and thus violated her civil rights.
That verdict was overturned in February 2019 by Judge Mickey Norman.
In July of 2020, an appeal court reinstated the $38 million award.