Lloyd Hobbs and his fifteen-year-old brother Russell had made the short trip from their home on St Nicholas Ave to the Apollo Theater on 125th Street for the 7 PM movie show, not emerging until 12.30 AM. When they stepped back onto 125th St, they saw crowds down the block at the intersection with 7th Ave, and went to investigate. They followed as police pushed the crowd north on 7th Ave. As people milled in front of a damaged auto parts store near 128th Street, two officers in a radio car pulled up and called on the crowd to ‘break it up.’ Fearing that they had been mistaken for rioters, the boys ran in separate directions, Russell up 7th Ave, and Lloyd diagonally west on to 128th St. Officer John McInerey then drew his gun and shot Lloyd; the officers then loaded him into their car and drove him to Harlem Hospital.

Hobbs died 11 days later, on March 31, as the first session of the Mayor’s Commission hearings on the riot opened. McInerey claimed that the officers had seen Hobbs throw a stone through the window of an auto supply store at 2150 7th Avenue and steal goods, and that he called on him to halt before opening fire. Several witnesses watching events from the corner of 128th and 7th Ave testified to seeing the crowd moving up the avenue, and Hobbs rush from the crowd as police pulled up, but not any looting, any goods on Hobbs, or any call for him to halt before McInerey shot him.

Two different grand juries heard the case against McInerey. The first hearing took place in early April (April 1), after the two hearings of the MCCH, which had heard testimony from Hobbs' brother and father and two eye-witnesses. McInerey testified before the grand jury, but it is not clear who else they heard from before they voted not to indict the officer. The MCCH nonetheless continued to gather evidence, with further witnesses to the shooting, including McInerey's partner and another officer testifying at subsequent hearings in late April and mid-May. Angry crowd members interrupted the police officers, leading the Commission to hold a closed hearing to take the testimony of McInerey, his partner, and the detective assigned to investigate the case, according to the World Telegraph. As a result of the MCCH investigation, the grand jury heard the case for a second time on June 10. Sixteen witnesses gave testimony, after which the grand jury declined to hear from McInerey and again voted not to indict him.

Notwithstanding that outcome, the MCCH gave a central place to McInerey's killing  Hobbs in its report on the events of the disorder.

Police Commissioner Valentine's written response to the draft report on April 30 covered six typewritten pages, including sections on six cases of police brutality. He devoted only six and a half lines to the "Case of Lloyd Hobbs," significantly less than any of the other five. The killing was simply "the outcome of Hobbs burglarizing premises 2150 7th Avenue," an interpretation confirmed by the Grand Jury who, after hearing from McInerey, "exonerated him."