In the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis, on a Tuesday afternoon, February 3, 2015, the life of 23-year-old Ledarius Williams came to a sudden and violent end. Williams, an African-American man, was fatally shot by a St. Louis police officer following a foot chase and a struggle. The incident began when two white male police officers, one a 29-year-old with seven years on the force and the other a 22-year-old with two years of experience, observed Williams 'acting suspiciously.'
When they began to follow him, he fled.
The pursuit led the officers on a chase that ended in a gangway on Meramec, where they discovered Williams hiding behind a bush. According to the police account, a struggle broke out between Williams and the officers. During this altercation, police stated that Williams produced a. 45 caliber handgun and aimed it at them. In response, one of the officers fired four shots, striking Williams. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. No officers were injured during the encounter.
This was not the first time Williams had a violent encounter with law enforcement. In 2009, he was shot in the leg by a police officer after allegedly pointing a weapon at them. This earlier incident resulted in a nearly five-year prison sentence for Williams. Following his death, the St. Louis Police Department's special independent investigative unit, which was formed in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting, was assigned to look into the circumstances of the shooting.
