Danny Withers Jr.

How they died

Deadly force

Officers shot and killed Danny Withers Jr., 21, an unarmed bank robbery suspect. The officers had gone to a home on East 125th Street that Withers shared with his grandmother to arrest him on a warrant. Detective Daniel Zola fired a single shot into Withers' chest as the suspect emerged with one arm raised from a closet in a dimly lit basement. Withers was suspected of robbing a Fifth Third Bank on Lorain Avenue five days earlier. His fingerprints were found on a note the robber passed to a teller, and on a door at the bank. Police later found additional evidence at the home that linked Withers to the robbery. No gun was found in the house, but police found a screwdriver near the scene of the shooting.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Danny Withers Jr., and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources