Every year police in the United States kill hundreds of people—461 in 2013, according to incomplete FBI statistics based on self-reporting from local law enforcement agencies, and more than 1,000 in 2014 according to killedbypolice.net, which combs through media reports. The fatal shooting in August of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer in an interaction that began over jaywalking propelled the issue of police violence and excessive force into the national news cycle. The police response to subsequent protests similarly propelled the issue of militarized police into the national news cycle.

The media attention paid to the killing of Michael Brown, in turn, also attracted media attention to police killings that otherwise may not have gotten as much notice, most notably the death of Eric Garner, who was put in a fatal chokehold by a New York City police officer after cops accused Garner of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes and tried to arrest him. Garner's death, and especially the subsequent decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict the officer who put him in a fatal chokehold, elicited a stronger public reaction than the 2013 killing of New York City teen Ramarley Graham, who was being chased over a small amount of marijuana, or the subsequent disposition of his homicide—one grand jury's indictment was thrown out by the judge and a second grand jury declined to indict.

Aside from the killing of Brown and Garner, there have been many other controversial police shootings and uses of deadly force, which have generally gotten a lot less attention, especially nationally. Here are 12 of the most questionable.

James Boyd

On March 16, homeless camper James Boyd was shot and killed by police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in an incident caught on police helmet camera, sparking protests in Albuquerque and across New Mexico. One of the cops involved in the shooting was also caught on a state trooper dash cam earlier that day calling Boyd a "fucking lunatic" he was going to shoot in the penis with his shotgun. The officer insisted in internal interviews that the statement was a joke. He was suspended with pay and eventually indicted, but allowed to retire just in time to collect a pension despite the internal affairs probe. The other officer who shot at Boyd was also indicted and placed on desk duty. The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) insists the shooting was justified and released a 1,000 page report in October. No charges have yet been filed and the FBI investigation into the shooting continues.

The Department of Justice announced in April it had found evidence of a pattern and practice of abuse at the APD, triggering federal oversight of the department, which killed at least three people in the weeks surrounding that announcement.