In the winter of 2015, a young Black/African American man named Raymone M. Davis, 21, died during a bank robbery attempt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the morning of December 4th, Davis entered the First Niagara Bank on Shiloh Street in the Mount Washington neighborhood, brandishing a handgun and announcing a robbery. His commands for everyone to get on the ground were swiftly met with an unexpected response.
An off-duty Pittsburgh police officer, Lisa Luncinski, had been hired to provide security at the bank, which had been the target of recent robberies.
From her position at the rear of the bank, Officer Luncinski identified herself as a police officer and ordered Davis to drop his weapon. According to witness accounts and surveillance footage, Davis then pointed his gun in the officer's direction. In what authorities later described as a textbook response that unfolded in a mere 40 seconds, Officer Luncinski fired a single shot, striking Davis in the side. He was transported to UPMC Mercy Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Allegheny County district attorney's office, a standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. The district attorney ultimately ruled the shooting as justified, concluding that Officer Luncinski acted in self-defense and in defense of others. The investigation revealed that Davis's gun was loaded with a single round in the chamber. Authorities also looked into the possibility of Davis's involvement in the previous robberies of the same bank. An accomplice, Ricky Simmons, was arrested and faced charges in connection with one of the earlier robberies. Court records indicated that at the time of the attempted robbery, Davis was on probation for prior convictions, including simple assault and drug offenses.
