In the summer of 2014, a 50-year-old Black woman named Michelle Cusseaux was in her Phoenix, Arizona, apartment when police arrived to serve a court-ordered mental health pickup. Her mother, Frances Garrett, had been trying to get her daughter, who lived with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, inpatient care to get her back on her medication.
On August 14, officers were dispatched for a 'wellness check' after Cusseaux had reportedly made threatening calls to a mental health facility. When police arrived, Cusseaux was inside, and initially told them she was fine and to leave.
The situation escalated when Sergeant Percy Dupra arrived on the scene. After Cusseaux would not open her locked security door, Dupra ordered another officer to pick the lock. When the officers gained entry, they saw Cusseaux standing near the doorway holding a hammer. Some accounts suggest she may have been using it to fix her door. Dupra stated that she held the hammer above her head in a threatening manner and advanced towards him, closing the distance to just a couple of feet. Feeling his life was in danger, he fired a single shot, which struck her in the chest. Michelle Cusseaux was pronounced dead at a hospital roughly half an hour later.
The shooting of Michelle Cusseaux drew immediate protest from her family and community activists, occurring just days after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Her family, demanding an independent investigation, took the dramatic step of marching with her casket to Phoenix City Hall. While the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against Sergeant Dupra, the Phoenix Police Department's Use of Force Board later determined that the shooting violated department policy. The board found that he failed to properly supervise and control the scene.
Consequently, Percy Dupra, a 19-year veteran of the force, was demoted from his rank of sergeant and was no longer eligible for patrol duties. He was not fired from the police force. Cusseaux's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Phoenix and the officers involved. The tragic event prompted the Phoenix Police Department to review and reform its policies for interacting with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, including the creation of a special mental health squad.
