Remembering Amadou Diallo- 10 years

Many of you might remember Amadou Diallo,who was shot and killed by four undercover officers in the doorway of his Bronx apartment building, around midnight on February 4th 1999.

That night 41 shots were fired at the immigrant from Guinea in West Africa, 19 of them hit him. The officers were charged with second-degree murder, but were found not guilty in a trial held in Albany. The shooting took place at 1157 Wheeler Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx. The four officers involved were part of the now-defunct Street Crimes Unit.

The sad thing (and after living in New York City for over 19 years) is that this was one case that was recognized. New York City police officers have been known throughout the years for their racial profiling and hatred.

Below is a brief biography of Diallo (taken from the Wikipedia Website)

One of four children of Saikou and Kadiatou Diallo, Amadou's family is part of an old Fulbe (Fula or Fulani people) trading family from the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea. He was born in Sinoe, Liberia while his father was working there, and grew up following his family to Togo, Bangkok, and Singapore, attending schools in Thailand, and later in Guinea and London, including Microsoft's Asian Institute. In September 1996, Amadou came to New York City where he and a cousin started a business, and to where other family members had immigrated. There he planned to enroll in college to pursue a computer science degree. Amadou Diallo is buried in the village of Hollande Bourou in the Fouta Djallon, where his extended family resides.