Killing of Joe Taylor in Louisiana in 1949

Incident

Case summary

Joe Taylor, 26, a seaman with the Merchant Marine and WWII veteran, was shot to death in 1949 by a police officer in New Orleans, Louisiana. Claiming to be protesting Senator Russell Long’s filibuster of civil rights legislation in Congress, Taylor boarded a city bus and announced that he would “kill every white person on the bus.” He shot the driver and a police officer. Taylor was arrested and placed in a police car. As he was being removed from the patrol car, he was shot four times by an officer. He succumbed to his wounds.

Victim(s):

Alleged perpetrators/other named individuals:
Perpetrator group type: police

Date of incident: 1949-03-06
Location: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Location type: carceral location
Allegation against victim: assaulting a white man, shooting a police officer; grabbing a police officer's gun; protesting segregation

Coroner process
Coroner/inquest: [ ]
Finding of no legal responsibility: [ ]

Criminal process
Arrest: [ ]
Charge/indictment/information: [ ]
Grand jury: [ ]
Trial: [ ]
Conviction: [ ]
Sentence: [ ]


Document(s):
advocacy group resources
death certificates
news articles - closed
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