The death of Anthony Griffin and how he changed a city

This week, for the30thanniversary of Anthony Griffin's death,CBCMontreal launchedHis name was Anthony: the life and death of Anthony Griffin and how he changed a city.

Griffin, a 19-year-old black man,was shot and killed by a Montreal police officer on Nov. 11, 1987.He had been trying to run from Const. Allan Gosset, but stopped and turned around when Gosset told him to do. Gosset has always maintained his gun, pointed at Griffin, fired accidentally.

He was acquitted two separate times of manslaughter. After the first trial, his mother, Gloria Augustusbroke down outside the courthouse. Griffin was her only child.

"Bitter, angry, whatever word you can fit in that category, I am," she said.

The series exploreshow the fatal police shooting galvanized Montreal's black community, led to changes in policing in multiethnic communities and tries to determine whether those changes have endured.

Itfeatures interviews and stories researched and produced by CBC journalists Cassandra Leader,Dionne Codringtonand Antoni Nerestant.

Anthony's death, and what followed

The story of Anthony's death and what was to come played out over the days and months following his death. This timeline maps out some of the important moments in that story.

• Key moments that followed the watershed moment when Anthony Griffin was shot

In this video, we meet some of the main characters in this story.

The police shooting that rocked the city

7 years ago

Duration 2:23

Thirty years ago, Anthony Griffin was shot and killed by Montreal police in NDG.CBCs Antoni Nerestant takes a look back at how the death of the 19-year-old unarmed black man affected Montreals black community.

30 years on, Anthony's friends still struggle

David Perrotte attended Chomedey High School with Griffin in Laval.To this day, he keeps newspaper clippings about Griffin's death in his kitchen.

• A 'senseless' death: Friendsrememberpolice shooting victim Anthony Griffin

"When you're friends with someone, it's kind of different to know that you know this person who they are talking about on TV," he said.

A loss of innocence, a generation of activists

When she heard about the shooting, Pat Dillon was worried the man who died was someone she knew.

It turns out that she didn't know the victim, but Griffin's death still had an impact on her.

• POINT OF VIEW:Overnight activist: How Anthony Griffin's death changed 1 woman

An uprising followed, but there's a long way to go

Many black Montrealers who marched in the street to protest against Griffin's death 30 years ago point to that event as a major catalyst for change.

• Anthony Griffin's death sparked an uprising in Montreal, but police still have work to do

But manysay there is still a long way to go especially when it comes to police efforts.

Montreal police weigh in on changes

Insp. Andr Durocher was on CBC Montreal'sDaybreakto provide the Montreal police's perspective on what has changed since Griffin's death.

You can listen to the interview here: