New York police kill Amadou Diallo in hail of 41 shots

Four New York City police officers shoot and kill Amadou Diallo, an unarmed Black immigrant from Guinea, on February 4, 1999. Officers fire 41 shots after approaching Diallo outside his Bronx apartment building. The killing sparks large protests over racial profiling and police violence. The officers are acquitted of state criminal charges in 2000, deepening public debate over police accountability. The case becomes a major late-1990s symbol of racial profiling, aggressive policing, and the vulnerability of Black immigrants to police violence.