A 20-year-old D.C. man died after he was hit by a car while riding an electric scooter, and his loved ones accuse police of causing the crash by chasing him.
A protest over Karon Hylton-Brown's death erupted Tuesday night outside a Northwest D.C. police station. Six officers were hurt. It was initially believed that four officers were hurt, but that number was revised upward when D.C. police released new information Wednesday afternoon.
Hylton-Brown died Monday, three days after the crash in the Brightwood Park neighborhood.
The late 20-year-old's mother, other family members and community members gathered to protest outside the 4th District police station on Georgia Avenue NW.
Hylton-Brown's mother, Karen Hylton, demanded to be let into the station and said she wanted to see the officer who she said "killed her son."
"I miss my baby. That's my baby. You understand?" she said later that night.
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The protests turned volatile when a group surrounded the front door of the station and a man picked up a metal trash can and started smashing the 10-foot-high safety glass windows. Four windows shattered, according to police.
Some people could be seen picking up rocks and throwing them at MPD cruisers, prompting dozens more police cars to pour into the area. Six MPD vehicles were damaged, a police spokesperson said.
After that, according to the spokesperson, "The group dispersed from the Fourth District station and proceeded southbound on Georgia Avenue where they set fires, smashed storefront windows, and pulled bricks from sidewalks to be used as projectiles. In an effort to stop these individuals, MPD deployed munitions and OC spray."
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One person was arrested, and charged with destruction of property/resisting arrest for "riotous behavior" inside the Wal-Mart on Georgia Avenue NW, police said.
The extent of the officers' injuries was not immediately clear.
At one point, dozens of people could be seen in a standoff with a line of police officers in front of the station. Police formed a perimeter around the station and closed roads. By Wednesday morning, the area was mostly quiet.
"The things that happened didn't have to happen. You know, he was targeted. All this — we wouldn't have to be out here. You know, if the guy would've just left my son alone, all this wouldn't have happened," Karen Hylton said.
Another protest was planned at the 4D police station on Wednesday evening.
Hylton-Brown died the day his daughter turned three months old, said Amaala Jones-Bey, his girlfriend and the infant's mother.
“It’s mind-boggling. This was so unnecessary,” she said Tuesday.
MPD says officers tried to conduct a traffic stop at about 10:10 p.m. Friday after they saw Hylton-Brown riding a Revel electric scooter on a sidewalk in the 500 block of Kennedy Street NW without a helmet. They say Hylton-Brown went through an alley and "collided" with a car in the 700 block of Kennedy Street.
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Officers performed first aid on Hylton-Brown and medics took him to a hospital, where he died Monday.
Hylton-Brown’s family and girlfriend say police are responsible for the crash. They want more information and want to see body camera footage.
D.C. police say they are working with the family and the Department of Behavioral Health in regards to the release of any footage.
“We are engaged directly with the next of kin about their ability to view the body-worn camera footage. We are coordinating with the Department of Behavioral Health to provide the family with the space and trauma-informed support they need to view the body-worn camera footage," Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Roger Mitchell said in an emailed statement.
D.C. police classified Hylton-Brown's death as a traffic fatality. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact police. Tips may be left anonymously.
Revel CEO Frank Reig said in a statement Tuesday, "Our sympathies are with Mr. Hylton's family. As this incident is under investigation, we're awaiting more details at this time."
Shared black-and-blue Revel electric scooters, also known as mopeds, hit D.C. streets in August 2019. Riders must wear helmets and answer a 21-question safety quiz in which they have to get a perfect score, NBC New York reported. The vehicles can travel up to 30 mph.
Revel shut down in New York City this summer after three riders were killed in separate crashes. The company relaunched and a fourth person was recently killed after she was hit by someone riding one of the electric scooters.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story reported the victim's last name as Hylton. News4 has since learned the victim's full last name is Hylton-Brown.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
