During the tumultuous summer of 1967, the city of Detroit, Michigan, was engulfed in one of the most significant periods of civil unrest in American history. On July 24, the second day of the uprising, 35-year-old Black male Alphonso Smith was present at the Standard Food Market, located at 9750 Dexter Avenue. The surrounding neighborhood was in a state of chaotic upheaval, with law enforcement and National Guard units patrolling the streets in an attempt to quell widespread looting and arson
that had broken out across the city.
In the late afternoon, around 4:15 p.m., police officers encountered Smith inside the grocery store. According to official reports from the time, authorities identified him as a looter amidst the confusion of the raided establishment. During this confrontation, police opened fire, striking Smith inside the market. He sustained fatal gunshot wounds and died at the scene, becoming one of the 43 recorded casualties of the five-day rebellion.
There are no records indicating that the officers involved in the shooting faced arrest or prosecution for Smith’s death. Like many of the fatalities involving law enforcement during the 1967 Detroit uprising, the incident was officially classified in police records as a justifiable homicide attributed to the suppression of looting. Consequently, no suspects were charged, and the specific details regarding the identity of the shooter remained buried within the broader statistical account of the riot's violent crackdown.
