Alberta Spruill

Alberta Spruill died after NYPD officers mistakenly raided her Harlem apartment with a stun grenade while searching for another person in May 2003.

What happened

Alberta Spruill, 57, was preparing for work as a New York City civil-service employee when police executed a no-knock search warrant at her Harlem apartment on May 16, 2003. Officers were pursuing information from an untested informant about a suspect's drugs and weapons, but they entered Spruill's home instead. They broke down the door, deployed a flash-bang grenade and handcuffed her despite her not being the target of the search. Spruill had a heart condition and became ill during the aftermath of the raid. An ambulance was called, and she suffered cardiac arrest en route to hospital and died. The killing raised serious questions about uncorroborated informants, no-knock warrants, tactical weapons and the impact of police raids on innocent residents.

Investigation & findings

NYPD leadership acknowledged that the raid targeted the wrong apartment and that the flash-bang deployment had not received the ordinary advance approval. The available source establishes these failures and her death; it does not by itself establish a criminal conviction.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records