Body camera footage in the D.C. police killing of an 18-year-old on Wednesday will be the first footage released to the public within days of a killing, in line with new police reforms.
The Metropolitan Police Department is set to release footage Thursday after an officer shot and killed 18-year-old Deon Kay in Southeast D.C.
Kay is the first person killed by police since police reforms went into effect this summer.
Emergency legislation approved by the D.C. Council in June and signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser the following month requires MPD to release body camera footage within five days of any incident in which officers use deadly or serious force. The department also is now required to release the names of involved officers. Families have the option to view the footage but prevent its release to the public.
In compliance with the new law, MPD released footage in July of three confrontations in 2018 that resulted in men’s deaths. But this will be the first case to comply with the five-day rule.
D.C. lawmakers passed the sweeping reforms amid historic protests in the city after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Kay, of Southeast D.C., died after a Metropolitan Police Department officer shot him once.
Officers went to “investigate a man with a gun” at about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday when they saw several young men in a vehicle. Two of the men ran and Kay “brandished” a gun, police say. An officer then shot him in the 200 block of Orange Street SE. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Responding officers activated their body-worn cameras, the department said Wednesday night.
Every D.C. officer has a body camera. The cameras have a pre-roll function through which they can retain the previous 30 seconds of footage once activated.
People protesting outside the Seventh District police station Wednesday night demanded the prompt release of video in Kay’s case.
“If you don’t release it tonight, we know you’ve got something to hide,” a woman shouted into a megaphone.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
