Police Brutality / Individual record
Arthur McDuffie
Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance salesman and Marine veteran, was beaten by Miami-Dade police after a motorcycle stop and died four days later in December 1979.
- Record ID
- PB-008
- Incident date
- December 17, 1979
- Date of death
- December 21, 1979
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Miami, FL
- Category
- Death following police beating
What happened
After a pursuit on December 17, 1979, McDuffie was beaten by officers using heavy flashlights and batons. Initial police descriptions attempted to attribute his injuries to a motorcycle crash. Medical evidence and later testimony indicated severe blunt-force injuries; McDuffie died on December 21. The case, police cover-up allegations, and trial became catalysts for a public reckoning over discriminatory violence in Miami.
Investigation & findings
Four officers were acquitted in May 1980 by an all-white jury. The verdict triggered protests and widespread civil unrest in Miami. A U.S. Commission on Civil Rights study examined the episode and policing conditions.
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- Historical source-derived record, pre-2015
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Published historical compilation of Black people killed in police custody (1999–2014)SAGE journal / cited NAACP LDF memorial listing · 2016 · Secondary scholarly source