Russell Wayne Poole (November 29, 1956 – August 19, 2015) was a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigated the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

His involvement started when Poole and his Robbery/Homicide unit partner Fred Miller were assigned to investigate the March 1997 Studio City shooting death of plainclothes LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines.

On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30 a.m., Wallace, Bad Boy Records CEO Sean Combs, and their entourage left the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards after-party, held at the Petersen Automotive Museum, in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after an announcement was made that the party would finish earlier than planned.

While waiting for the light to change, a white Toyota Land Cruiser made a U-turn and cut in between Wallace's vehicle and the Chevrolet Blazer behind.

The driver of the Impala, an African-American male, rolled down his window, drew a 9mm blue-steel pistol, and fired several rounds into the GMC Suburban; four bullets hit Wallace in the chest.

[8] Distraught from the order to end the Mack investigation early and forced retirement, Poole later stated that "I almost took my life, but it was my kids that actually saved me.

Tupac:187, written by Richard RJ Bond, Michael Douglas Carlin, with a contribution by Russell Poole, is an alternate theory in the murder of Tupac Shakur.

[11] While discussing the Wallace and Tupac Shakur cases for an upcoming nonfiction book, Chaos Merchants, Poole died of a heart attack at the Monterey Park office of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on August 19, 2015.