Police Brutality / Individual record
Demarcus Semer
The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Demarcus Semer in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-04-23 in Fort Pierce, FL. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.
- Record ID
- PB-414
- Incident date
- April 23, 2016
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Fort Pierce, FL
- Agency
- Fort Pierce Police Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
- Age (reported)
- 21
What happened
Demarcus Semer, 21, was fatally shot by Fort Pierce police in Florida on April 23, 2016, after a late-night traffic stop near North 19th Street. Officers said they saw marijuana in the car and attempted an arrest; Semer drove away with officers partly inside or beside the vehicle, running over one officer's legs. Police fired, striking Semer in the lower back. His mother LaTrecia Middleton argued that deadly force was unjustified over a minor alleged drug offense. In September 2016, a grand jury declined to indict Officers Ralph Holmes and Brian MacNaught, concluding they acted lawfully. The estate also pursued federal civil litigation. The officer accounts and the family's objections remain separate from the grand jury's decision, which is a charging determination rather than a trial finding.
Investigation & findings
Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 1483
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- male
- Flee status (source)
- car
- Agency IDs (source)
- 930
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Fatal Force v2 — fatal on-duty police shootings, 2015–2024The Washington Post · Dataset