Police Brutality / Individual record
Michael Stewart
Artist Michael Stewart died after being arrested by New York City Transit Police on September 15, 1983 over alleged subway graffiti.
- Record ID
- PB-010
- Incident date
- September 15, 1983
- Date of death
- September 28, 1983
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- New York, NY
- Category
- Death after police detention
What happened
Stewart was arrested in a subway station and taken to transit police headquarters. Eyewitnesses reported seeing officers beat and kick him. He arrived at Bellevue Hospital comatose, remained unconscious and died thirteen days after his arrest. His killing became a major focus for artists, family members and organizers raising alarm about police violence and the lack of accountability for custodial injuries.
Investigation & findings
Six transit police officers were acquitted of criminal charges in November 1985. The acquittals were condemned by the family and community organizers; the case also gave rise to civil proceedings.
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