Deborah Danner - was fatally shot in her Bronx apartment by Sergeant Hugh Barry of the New York Police Department on October 18, 2016. The shooting occurred after police arrived to investigate a neighbor’s reports of “erratic” behavior. Due to a history of mental illness, it was not uncommon for police to arrive at Danner’s doorstep. In 2012, Danner wrote that she had experienced more than ten hospitalizations during her life. Deborah Danner’s death spurred citywide protests and prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to condemn Barry’s breach of proper protocol, calling the event “tragic and unacceptable.”
According to the police, Danner had scissors, and Barry talked her into putting them down. Then she picked up a baseball bat and swung at him. Barry shot Danner twice, fatally wounding her. He was the only officer in the bedroom, although others were on the scene.
According to court testimony by Brittney Mullings, an emergency medical technician, Mullings had arrived before Barry. Danner had put down the scissors and Mullings was talking to her. Danner was not holding anything in her hands. Mullings was trying to explain to Danner why they had arrived. Barry then arrived, and did not talk to Mullings or Danner. The police interrupted their conversation, and Danner retreated into her bedroom. Six police officers followed Danner into her bedroom, and a minute later, Mullings heard two shots.
Disciplinary action was immediately taken by the New York Police Department (NYPD). Within six hours, Sgt. Barry had been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty, then was eventually suspended without pay. In May 2017, he was charged with second-degree murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide, but was acquitted on all counts by the State Supreme Court the following February. New York City also agreed to pay a $2 million settlement to Danner’s family after her sister and guardian, Jennifer, sued the city.
Before her death, Ms. Danner was an IT/ MIS professional who took pride in her intelligence and involved herself with her church. In 2014, she graduated with a BS in Computer Science from the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Her 2012 essay Living with Schizophrenia describes her experiences with mental illness, her strained relationship with her family, discrimination from employers, and the general stigma that she regularly encountered due to her condition. Ironically, she also discussed the danger that police encounters present to people living with mental illness.
Say Her Name!
DEBORAH J. DANNER (1950-2016)