Police Brutality / Individual record
Donta Taylor
The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Donta Taylor in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-08-25 in Compton, CA. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.
- Record ID
- PB-502
- Incident date
- August 25, 2016
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Compton, CA
- Agency
- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
- Age (reported)
- 31
What happened
Donta Taylor, 31, was killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in Compton on August 25, 2016. Deputies said he drew a handgun while standing on Wilmington Avenue and ran; they reported shooting after he aimed at them near the wash. Authorities said they could not locate the alleged firearm immediately afterward. His family sued, asserting Taylor was unarmed and walking to a nearby market. Public reports subsequently identified Samuel Aldama and Mizrain Orrego as the two deputies involved. The unresolved gun evidence and the family's account directly dispute the sheriff's justification; the filing of a lawsuit alone does not mean those claims were established by a court.
Investigation & findings
Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 1816
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- male
- Armed status (source)
- gun
- Flee status (source)
- foot
- Agency IDs (source)
- 20
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