In Memory Of: Black Women Who Died Unjustly

Shelly Frey

An off-duty Houston police officer shot and killed Shelly Frey, a 27-year-old black mother of two, for suspected shoplifting at a North Houston Walmart in 2012. According to police, it all started when Deputy Louis Campbell, who worked an extra job as a Walmart security guard, was told by two Walmart employees that Shelly and her friends were stuffing merchandise into their purses. When Campbell confronted them at the store’s exit, police say one of the women hit him with her purse and ran. Campbell chased them into the parking lot and held their car door open to stop them from leaving, but the driver sped off, at which point Campbell fired at the car, striking Shelly Frey in the neck. She died shortly thereafter at a nearby apartment complex. What remains questionable is whether or not the police officer had to shoot inside the car, as opposed to a tire in order to stop and thus, detain the women.