Margaret LaVerne Mitchell

Margaret LaVerne Mitchell, a Black woman who was experiencing homelessness and mental illness, was shot by an LAPD officer after police stopped her over a shopping cart in May 1999.

What happened

Margaret LaVerne Mitchell was walking with a shopping cart containing her belongings near La Brea Avenue and Fourth Street in Los Angeles on May 21, 1999. Officers Edward Larrigan and Kathy Clark, on bicycle patrol, sought to question her because they suspected the cart was stolen. Mitchell had formerly worked in banking, and her son said she had struggled with mental illness. Officers said she threatened them with a screwdriver and Larrigan fired once when he believed she lunged toward him. Witnesses and civil-rights advocates questioned whether the confrontation was escalated unnecessarily and whether less-lethal measures were available. Amnesty International expressed concern that lethal force was disproportionate. An internal police commission subsequently rejected the chief's judgment that the shooting complied with policy.

Investigation & findings

The Los Angeles Police Commission found the fatal shooting violated department policy. The district attorney declined criminal prosecution in August 2001; the family received a reported $975,000 civil settlement. A failure to prosecute does not resolve the commission's policy finding.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records