D.C. police released body camera footage after an officer shot and wounded a man in Chinatown earlier this month.
Holiday shoppers were still out and about at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, in the 900 block of F Street NW when the Metropolitan Police Department officer opened fire.
According to police, officers spotted a man who police say they believed was carrying a gun in his waistband. As officers approached him, he fled. Police provided preliminary details the night of the shooting.
“As the officers were attempting to stop that individual, a firearm was displayed. One officer discharged a round at the individual,” Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said.
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The video shows an officer chasing the man down the sidewalk and yelling at him.
“Put your hands up!” he says on video.
The man appears to slip and fall, get back up and continue to run away, at which point the officer fires one shot.
“Shot fired. Don’t move, don’t move,” he said.
Even slowing down the video, which was blurred by police, it’s unclear if the man draws a weapon and points it at police, or if the man was facing police when he was shot.
As an officer handcuffs the suspect, the man tells police he’s been shot.
“Excuse me. I’m bleeding,” he says.
“Nobody cares. Shut your mouth,” someone is heard replying.
As police search the man, an officer points to a handgun on the sidewalk.
“The weapon is right there,” someone says.
According to police, the loaded semi-automatic handgun was recovered near the man, a 27-year-old.
Police charged him with assault on a police officer, possession of a controlled substance and six firearms charges, including unlawful possession and carrying a pistol without a license.
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The officer was placed on routine administrative leave pending an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Police say the man’s injuries were not life-threatening, that no officers were injured and that it did not appear that the man fired his weapon. Police declined to answer any follow-up questions about the shooting.
