Police Brutality / Individual record
Deric J. Brown
The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Deric J. Brown in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2016-10-09 in Syracuse, NY. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.
- Record ID
- PB-530
- Incident date
- October 9, 2016
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Syracuse, NY
- Agency
- Syracuse Police Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
- Age (reported)
- 41
What happened
Deric Jerome Brown, 41, a Syracuse University food-service employee and father, was shot and killed by Syracuse police officer Joseph Mauro III during a nighttime traffic stop near Walnut Avenue and Madison Street on October 9, 2016. Police said Mauro stopped Brown's car because its lights were not fully illuminated and saw what appeared to be a gun inside. According to prosecutors, Mauro ordered Brown to show his hands and retreated toward his patrol car; Brown then got out and fired at Mauro, who returned three shots. Authorities cited witnesses and video recorded by a Syracuse University medical-transport van as evidence of the exchange. In November 2016, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced that a grand jury had found Mauro's use of deadly force justified and would not bring charges. Brown's obituary identified his five children and his work at the university. The shooting reconstruction and legal conclusion are attributed to the investigation and prosecutor rather than independently established by a court trial.
Investigation & findings
Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 1943
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- male
- Armed status (source)
- gun
- Flee status (source)
- not
- Agency IDs (source)
- 1122
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