Body camera footage released following Northwest DC deadly shooting involving police officer
By: After a DC Police officer shot and killed a man over the weekend, authorities have released the body-worn camera footage of the incident.
The shooting happened on Saturday afternoon. A preliminary investigation found that two vehicles were headed northbound on Georgia Avenue Northwest when they opened fire on a group of people who were walking on Longfellow Street Northwest. The individuals then returned fire, according to police. In a press conference Friday, Police Chief Robert Contee III said that when officers responded to the report of a shooting, they found two boys, aged 17 and 15, suffering from gunshot wounds in nearby Auto Zone parking lot. Contee said three firearms were found on that scene.
About two minutes later, another witness said the shooter was spotted in an alley tossing something under a vehicle and provided police with a description of the suspect, Contee said.
According to Contee, when officers arrived on scene to speak to the witness, they were alerted that the suspect was still in the alley. Officers spotted this person and gave chase on foot until the suspect was seen jumping into a white sedan with several other people.
The vehicle sped off and a lookout was broadcast to other officers.
A Fourth District Sargant spotted the car and engaged in a pursuit with with lights and sirens activated, Contee said in the Friday press conference. In an effort to evade police, the sedan struck a curb near a neighbor park. Three people inside the car bailed out and ran through the park. Contee said police are still looking for those people.
The driver of the vehicle ran into the park as the MPD officer pulled behind the car and partially exited his cruiser.
Police said the officer fired one shot after confronting the armed man as he exited the vehicle. The wounded man, later identified by his sister as 31-year-old Kevin Hartgraves-Shird, eventually died from his injuries. His sister Serena demanded transparency from the Metropolitan Police Department.
"I need to see what happened," she told WUSA9 on Saturday.
Nearly a week after the shooting, MPD has released the footage from cameras worn by officers during the incident.
The body camera video released Friday is less than two minutes long and picks up right after the white sedan crashed and suspects fled.
The officer is seen with his gun in his hand as he gets out of the car. He yells "Gun gun gun gun gun!" before firing. Behind the door, he shoots the man in his right ear. The video doesn’t show exactly where the man, who was 35 yards away, was positioned and if he was holding a gun.
A gun was recovered near his body on the ground. He was initially handcuffed until officers rendered CPR.
MPD has not identified the officer involved in the shooting, but said he is a 17-year veteran of the department.
Before a press conference with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to discuss the video, the victim's sister and other family members were in the room upset by what happened.