Demetrius DuBose

DuBose attended the University of Notre Dame, where he was a starting linebacker for the Fighting Irish and a co-captain for the team his senior year. He graduated in 3.5 years, double majoring in finance and international business as well as earning All American status.{{cite news|last=Newman|first=Scott|title=Notre Dame's defense knows it can't rest|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Od8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=4879,5714272&dq=demetrius-dubose&hl=en|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=October 10, 1991}}{{Cite news|last=Morrissey|first=Rick|date=July 27, 1999|title=A Life Left Unfulfilled|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-27-9907270138-story.html|access-date=2020-08-29}}

Dubose was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round (34th pick overall) of the 1993 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1993 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1993/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He was allowed to leave as a free agent and signed with the New York Jets in 1997. He was waived by the Jets only four months later.

During the off-season, he visited places such as Australia, New Zealand, and various countries in Europe. He also spent time in Vail, Colorado, tuning in his snowboarding skills. He worked for one winter for the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol. After football, he invested much of his football earnings in business ventures that were not very successful, including a line of sports clothing and a beach volleyball league. Dubose had aspirations of becoming a successful pro beach volleyball player and was on his way to achieving his goal.

DuBose was shot (13 times, 5 in the back) to death by two police officers, Timothy Keating and Robert Wills, in San Diego during a confrontation on July 24, 1999, after mistakenly entering a neighbors' house next door to the vacation rental he was staying at with friends in Pacific Beach. Although police were called, witnesses stated that the confusion had been resolved by the time police arrived on the scene. While detained by police to confirm his identity, he resisted and attempted to flee the scene. Although DuBose was shirtless and unarmed, police contended they had no choice but to protect themselves and others when the fatal shots were fired. DuBose was shot thirteen times, five in the back, by the two officers with their 9 mm handguns. The toxicology reports showed that he had traces of alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy in his system. He was 28.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California investigated the shooting and found that it was justified.Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1999, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-26-mn-37664-story.html "FBI Says Slaying of NFL Player Justified"] (accessed November 9, 2010) The entire report has been posted on the web.[http://tomweston.net/dubose.html Police Murder of Demetrius DuBose] tomweston.net In May 2000, "[t]he Citizens Review Board on Police Practices concluded that while the shooting was a justified use of deadly force under the department's guidelines, the two officers 'did not exercise sufficient discretion.'"Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-04-mn-26528-story.html "Police Panel Criticizes Officers in Athlete's Death,"] May 4, 2000, (accessed November 9, 2010). In February 2003, a ten-person federal jury in a wrongful death suit found the officers to be not liable.Seattle Times, February 19, 2003, [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20030219/digs19/federal-jury-rules-in-favor-of-police-in-dubose-case "Federal jury rules in favor of police in DuBose case,"] (accessed November 9, 2010) His grave is located at Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle, Washington.

Filmmaker and former Notre Dame teammate John Kouris produced a documentary film about DuBose first screened in 2025 called Demetrius DuBose, All American.{{Cite news|last=McDonald|first=Jeff|date=August 1, 2020|title=Filmmaker revisits San Diego police shooting of former NFL linebacker Demetrius DuBose|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-01/filmmaker-san-diego-police-shooting-dubose|access-date=2020-08-29}}{{cite news|author1=WNDU.com|first2=Joshua|last2=Short|title=Documentary honors life, revisits death of Notre Dame All-American Demetrius DuBose|url=https://www.wndu.com/2025/04/09/documentary-honors-life-revisits-death-notre-dame-all-american-demetrius-dubose/|publisher=WNDU-TV|date=April 9, 2025|access-date=April 9, 2025}}

• List of unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers in the United States

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• {{cite news|last=Kelley|first=Steve|title=Snapshots of a lost life reveal the true Demetrius DuBose|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HYBfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3320,1917818&dq=demetrius-dubose&hl=en|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|date=August 7, 1999}}
• {{cite news|title=COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Doubts About DuBose's Eligibility|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/23/sports/college-football-doubts-about-dubose-s-eligibility.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 23, 1992}}

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Category:1971 births

Category:1999 deaths

Category:Players of American football from Seattle

Category:American football linebackers

Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players

Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players

Category:New York Jets players

Category:Deaths by firearm in California

Category:African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States