In the morning hours of April 22, 2015, officer Stephan Rankin of Portsmouth, Virginia responded to a call over suspected shoplifting at Walmart. Officer Rankin left his baton in his car and entered the store armed with a gun, taser, and pepper spray. He approached the unarmed William Chapman, who had a criminal record that included one case of assault, as he was walking down the parking lot. Rankin approached Chapman and prepared to handcuff him. When the teen refused to take his hand out of his pocket, Rankin proceeded to apprehend him, putting him on the police hood, where he then used his Taser. Chapman was able to free himself and knock the Taser aside. He put his hands up and began to approach Rankin, who responded by shooting him in the chest and head. Rankin claimed that this was a last resort during this time frame. Afterward, the officer attempted to perform CPR on the wounded teen. Following the incident, it was found that his backpack just contained a multicolored scarf and a laptop that belonged to his relatives. The police records mentioned he was seen taking something and heading for the bathroom before exiting sometime later, but it was not confirmed if he stole anything.
The Chapman family, while mourning his death, mentioned that he had been planning to graduate and join the military. During this time a trial occurred with Rankin being charged with first-degree murder and a felony for his use of his firearm. Rankin was fired from the force after the incident but was supported by two former colleagues for the trial. The prosecutors, one being Stephanie Morales who was a rookie dealing with the trial as her first murder case, noted that Rankin had experience with martial arts, non-lethal measures of force, and his emergency radio button, but opted to use none of them.
Rankin, who claimed that he did not aim to kill Chapman, was eventually found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He was one of the few cases to have a police officer convicted, with only seventy-four others being charged since 2005 compared to the 1,000 deaths by officers per year. The jury of eight African-Americans and four whites had recommended two and a half years of prison in response to hearing that Chapman had faced ten years for his prior incidents. Judge Johnny Morrison refused bail, while Rankin’s attorney pleaded for Rankin to not be sent to prison. Ranin revealed his disdain for his former job and the city of Portsmouth after the trial.