17 bullets in the back: Another Black life lost to U.S. police violence

The autopsy of Lintol Blackwell, a 44-year-old Black man in Atlanta, Georgia, revealed that an off-duty police officer shot him 17 times.

According to The Independent, Blackwell was shot and killed on October 11 outside a hotel by a police officer. He died at the scene.

The officer who shot Blackwell was off duty and working as a security guard at the hotel.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation claimed that Blackwell was armed and ignored the officer’s orders to stop as he entered the hotel—allegations that have been heavily questioned following the autopsy report showing he was shot 17 times in the back.

The autopsy indicates that this African American citizen was shot 17 times from behind by an off-duty officer. The release of the report has intensified calls for criminal charges against the officer involved.

The Atlanta Police Department has announced that it has opened an internal investigation.

According to the Mapping Police Violence project, U.S. police have killed 1,130 people so far this year.

U.S. police went only four days this year without killing a civilian.

Black Americans are 2.8 times more likely to be targeted by police compared to their white counterparts.