Leonard Deadwyler

In May of 1966, a man was rushing his wife who was in labor to the hospital. After speeding and running several red lights, he was shot and killed by the LAPD. This man was Leonard Deadwyler, yet another addition to the list of black men who were unnecessarily killed. His widowed wife later attempted to sue Los Angeles for the wrongful death of her husband, and was represented by Johnnie Cochran, but lost the case. The police claimed that Deadwyler was drunk and acting irrationally at the time he was stopped – this statement was only refuted by his wife. The majority of the public were convinced that Leonard Deadwyler wouldn't have died that day if his neighborhood in South Central had had its own hospital. His unfortunate death led to protests, but also spurred the construction of King and the adjoining Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.