Michelle Cusseaux
August 14, 2014· Unknown, Phoenix, Arizona
- People
- Michelle Cusseaux
- Outcome
- unknown
On August 14, 2014, Michelle Cusseaux, a 50-year-old Black woman with serious mental illness, was fatally shot by Phoenix Police Sergeant Percy Dupra inside her apartment. Officers had arrived to serve a court order to transport Cusseaux to a mental health facility. The incident occurred just five days after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Cusseaux suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, prolonged post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and personality disorders. Her mother, Frances Garrett, had contacted a behavioral health center seeking help for her daughter. When police arrived to execute the court-ordered mental health pickup, Cusseaux refused to open her door. According to her mother's lawsuit, Cusseaux "refused to let Phoenix police into her home because she was afraid they would shoot her, so they broke in and shot her to death." After initial responding officers had the situation under control, Sergeant Percy Dupra, a 17-year veteran, arrived and pried open Michelle's door. Dupra claimed he saw Cusseaux holding a hammer above her head in a threatening manner and shot her once at close range in the heart. The Phoenix Police Department's Use of Force Board, comprising three community members and three department employees, reviewed the case and determined that Dupra's shooting of Cusseaux violated department policy. However, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced in March 2015 that Dupra was justified in shooting Cusseaux and that no criminal charges would be filed. Cusseaux's mother's lawsuit argued that Dupra could have used a Taser or pepper spray instead of lethal force, or police could have simply kept her contained in her home until trained mental health professionals arrived. Following Cusseaux's death, her family marched her casket from Phoenix City Hall to the U.S. Attorney's Office demanding a federal investigation. The Phoenix Police Department subsequently announced reforms, including the development of a mental health advisory board and the creation of a special squad of plainclothes officers trained by mental health professionals and social workers to respond to mental health crisis calls. Michelle Cusseaux's case became part of the African American Policy Forum's "Say Her Name" campaign highlighting police violence against Black women.