The FBI and federal prosecutors have opened a civil rights investigation into the killing of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin by a Washington police officer last month. The teenager was found sleeping in an allegedly stolen vehicle.
The announcement comes after the US Park Police and Washington Metropolitan Police released body-worn camera footage on Tuesday showing the fatal encounter on March 18.
“The loss of a life is always tragic, but it is especially painful when it involves a child,” the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement, calling the bodycam video “extremely disturbing.”
“In coordination with the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the United States Attorney’s Office has opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances leading to Mr. Martin. This investigation – which we are committed to diligently and thoroughly conducting – is ongoing,” the statement said.
The release of the videos comes amid a wide-ranging national debate over the use of force by police, triggered by the release of body camera footage in several cases where an interaction with police resulted in death or injury, including the fatal shooting of Alonzo. Bagley in February in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the bludgeoning death of Tire Nichols by officers in Memphis, Tennessee.
Park Police and Metropolitan Police officers were responding to a report of a stolen vehicle shortly before 9 am when Martin’s shooting took place, they said.
An MPD officer arrived first and “observed that the occupant of the vehicle was asleep and the ignition was turned on. The officer determined that the vehicle was stolen and then called additional units,” Park Police said in a statement.
Several officers from both agencies arrived and began discussing how to approach the situation, including whether to break the window and pull the driver out.
“As soon as you break it, it will wake up, start the car and put it in gear. We don’t want anyone to get hurt,” one officer is heard saying to another officer in Park Police body cam footage.
As officers continue to strategize, an MPD officer can be heard on body camera footage saying, “So, here’s the plan. He’s knocked out. The rear window is just plastic. I’ll try to cut it out quietly, unlock the door. If he doesn’t startle, doesn’t wake up, then let’s try to get in there, grab him before he puts the car in gear.
The officer continues, “If he gets up, let him go.”
Officers from both agencies finally approach the vehicle and try to pull the driver out as the footage shows a park officer jumping into the backseat and yelling, “Police, don’t move. Do not move. Do not move.”
The vehicle then suddenly pulls away while the park trooper is still in the backseat, the footage shows. The policeman yells, “Stop!” The vehicle keeps moving and the officer yells, “Stop man, let me out. Let me go!”
Then the policeman yells, “Stop. Stop or I shoot!” “The driver did not obey” and the officer “fired his firearm,” Park Police said.
Seconds later, the vehicle crashes into a house and the officer jumps out, the footage shows.
The police removed the driver from the vehicle, called medical help and began to provide help, including chest compressions.
US Park Police said the driver, identified as Martin, died at the scene and a gun was recovered inside the vehicle. No one inside the house was injured.
The officer who shot Martin and a second Park officer were transported to an area hospital for treatment, Park Police said.
“The investigation into this incident is being conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department and is being reviewed by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. An administrative review of this incident is being conducted by the Department of the Interior,” Park Police said.
Martin’s mother wants officers fired and charged
None of the officers involved have been identified by any of the law enforcement agencies, and their faces are blurred in body cam footage.
A lawyer for the Martin family, Jade Mathis, told The Washington Post that the family reviewed the videos shortly before they were released to the public.
“Their initial reaction was tears and then it turned to anger,” Mathis told the Post. “But it was also a relief because they have more answers than before.”
The family wants the park officer who shot Martin identified, prosecuted and fired, Mathis told the Post.
Park Police have not confirmed the status of the officer who shot Martin. “In accordance with applicable law and department policy, we do not publicly disclose information about personal actions relating to our employees,” a Park Police spokesperson told CNN.
Park Police union chief Kenneth Spencer defended the officer who shot Martin, telling the Post: “There is a legal reason he was in the car, the use of force was justified and the union stands behind the actions of the park police. officers.”
The Metropolitan Police told CNN in a statement: “Our Division of Internal Affairs’ preliminary investigation has been forwarded to the (U.S. Attorney’s Office) for its independent review.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of the Interior for comment.
Source: CNN Brasil
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