Denzel Dowell

The shooting of Denzil F. Dowell (April 4, 1944 – April 1, 1967), an African-American resident of North Richmond, California, occurred on April 1, 1967. He was shot by an officer of the Martinez Sheriff's Department with six shotgun pellets during a suspected burglary incident.

At about 5 a.m. on April 1, 1967, two sheriff's deputies responded to a telephone call that a burglary was in progress at a liquor store in North Richmond, CA. Upon arrival at the location, one deputy spotted two suspects and ordered them to halt. They fled and the deputy fired one shotgun blast. Denzil F. Dowell was struck and killed. The second suspect escaped. A hole was found broken through the cement wall of the liquor store, and various burglary tools were found at the spot the two suspects were first seen. A coroner's inquest was held to investigate the shooting. It was ruled a justifiable homicide on April 14, 1967. The ruling was made unanimously by a jury of 10 white and two black citizens after 30 minutes of deliberation.

The event led to a street rally organized by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. During the rally 15 armed members of the Black Panther Party held a street rally to protest against police brutality. This event helped to establish the Black Panthers in the national spotlight. It also provided the content for the first edition of the BPP newspaper, The Black Panther, which was published in April 1967 with a headline about the killing of Denzil Dowell.