Rumain Brisbon

Rumain Brisbon, 34, a Black father, was shot twice, including once in the back, and killed by Phoenix Police Officer Mark Rine on December 2, 2014, in the parking lot of his North Phoenix apartment complex. Rine had been following up on a report of drug sales from an SUV; he said Brisbon ran when ordered to raise his hands, that they struggled, and that he felt what he believed was a gun in Brisbon's pocket. It was a vial of oxycodone pills. Two witnesses disputed Rine's account. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to charge Rine, finding the force appropriate, and in 2017 the City of Phoenix paid Brisbon's family $1.5 million to settle their lawsuit. Rine remained on the force with no duty restrictions. No one has ever been charged in Brisbon's death.

Phoenix, AZ · Maricopa County

• 2014: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The encounter and the shooting, per Phoenix police statements, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office decision, and reporting by ABC News, Phoenix New Times, KJZZ, and NBC News.
• A caller reported a Black man selling drugs from a black Cadillac SUV near a 7-Eleven; the SUV's license plate led Officer Mark Rine, then a 30-year-old white officer with seven years on the force and no prior complaints, to Brisbon's apartment complex.
• Phoenix New Times reported that Brisbon had gone out to get fast food for his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter; he got out of the SUV, opened a rear door, and appeared to take out a bag of food when Rine ordered him to raise his hands.
• Rine said Brisbon reached toward his waistband and ran; the two struggled, stumbled into an apartment, and Rine lost his grip. Rine said he felt what he believed was a gun in Brisbon's pocket and fired.
• The object in Brisbon's pocket was a vial of oxycodone pills. Police said a later search found a gun in the SUV and a jar believed to contain marijuana.
• Brisbon was shot twice; an autopsy reportedly showed one shot struck him in the back, and Phoenix New Times described it as point-blank.
• Two witnesses disputed Rine's account of what happened, according to Phoenix New Times.
• The Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to charge Rine; a spokesman said every officer-involved shooting is reviewed and that the office found the force used was appropriate.
• Brisbon's family filed a lawsuit in May 2015, and in late June 2017 the Phoenix City Council approved a $1.5 million settlement; two council members voted against it, one arguing it set a bad precedent because he believed Rine had done nothing wrong.
• Phoenix police confirmed Rine remained employed with no restrictions on his duty status; the police union said in a statement that Brisbon “had the choice to live that evening.” Protests followed the shooting, and at one march an officer apologized to Brisbon's nine-year-old daughter, whose family attorney called the gesture nice but unable to bring back her father.

• Whether Brisbon reached toward his waistband in a way that reasonably suggested a weapon, as Rine said, or was reaching for the food and pill vial he actually had, was never tested at a criminal trial, and two witnesses disputed Rine's account.
• The precise date on which the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced its decision, and the full reasoning behind it, are not stated in the sources reviewed for this summary.
• Whether any body camera or other video of the encounter exists is not stated in the sources reviewed.

• ABC News — “How Phoenix Man's Death Became Latest Flashpoint in Police Relations”
• Phoenix New Times — “Phoenix Cop Won't Face Charges for Fatally Shooting Unarmed Man”
• Phoenix New Times — “Phoenix Approves $1.5 Million Settlement For Family of Rumain Brisbon, Unarmed Black Man Shot By Police”
• KJZZ — “Phoenix To Pay $1.5 Million To Family Of Unarmed Man Shot, Killed”
• NBC News — “Cop Apologizes to Police Shooting Victim Rumain Brisbon's Daughter”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs