Brandon Martell Moore aka Brandon Burks

How they died

Deadly force

Officer Eugene Williams was moonlighting as a plainclothes security guard at the Bel-Air Mall at around 2 p.m. when he ejected a group of teens from Detroit National Wholesale Liquidators because of a policy banning unaccompanied shoppers under 17. The teens disputed this--they were with one youth's 19-year-old brother and his friend. According to witnesses, Williams struck one teen, then fired as they turned and ran, hitting Brandon Martell Moore (called Brandon Burks in some reports) in the back, killing him. Another youth was shot in the hand. Moore's friends said Williams kicked him as he lay handcuffed on the ground after police arrested all of them. The shooting was ruled justified. In 1971, Williams was fired for a fatal hit-and-run while DUI. He appealed and was reinstated in 1974. In 1979, Williams shot and killed a man during a brawl. In 1984, Williams shot his wife; she survived. He claimed she'd lunged at him with scissors. Williams stayed on the force. Questions were raised about whether Williams was in compliance with state law, which required security guards to wear uniforms.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Brandon Martell Moore aka Brandon Burks, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources