Songfacts®:

• This is a song about the murder of Amadou Bailo Diallo, who was shot by New York Police Department detectives who were working undercover. They thought Amadou was a rapist wanted by police, and when they pulled guns on him, he reached into his jacket and the detectives shot him 41 times, hence the line, "The four protectors fired 41 shots." When the police searched his body, they didn't find any weapons, hence the line, "Searching the body there were no weapons found." Most likely, Diallo was reaching for his wallet. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Rob - Los Angeles, CA