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U.S. Park Police (USPP) have released body camera video that shows an officer shooting 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin inside an SUV the teen allegedly stole in Washington, D.C.
A section of the released bodycam video also appears to show the procedures of the two law enforcement agencies that responded — USPP and the Metropolitan Police Department — differing in the critical moments before the fatal shooting.
D.C. police officers found Dalaneo Martin asleep inside an SUV with the ignition running after they responded to a report of a suspicious car near 34th and Baker streets NE about 8:50 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, authorities said. They determined the car was stolen, called for backup and two USPP officers responded.
In a part of the bodycam video released Tuesday, the officers can be seen discussing how they're going to get the driver out of the car while it's running. D.C. police training and procedure instruct officers to not block vehicles, and not to enter vehicles in situations like the one that resulted in Martin’s death.
A senior D.C. police officer can be heard directing the others: “If he takes off just let him go, but don't get inside that car."
However, the video later shows how an officer moves to arrest Martin, climbing into the backseat and saying, "Police, don't move." That officer and others appear to struggle with the teen as he's in the driver seat, and Martin screams.
Authorities are unsuccessful, and Martin drives away with the officer still in his backseat.
“Stop man, just let me out,” the officer says while reaching for their gun. “Stop. Stop or I’ll shoot!”
The officer fires multiple times, and the teenager screams again.
The SUV then ran into a home in the 300 block of 36th Street NE. Martin died at the scene.
Police said they later discovered a gun in the SUV, but that the officers did not know it was there until after the vehicle crashed.
It's believed that this is one of the first times that a federal law enforcement agency has released body-worn camera video to the public.
Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the U.S. Park Police union, said the officers’ actions were justified.
“The officer had lawful reason to enter the vehicle, and both officers involved took appropriate actions for lawful reasons,” Spencer said.
Martin's family saw the video of the shooting hours before police released it to the public.
"He murdered my son and should be prosecuted," Martin's mother, Terra Martin, said after watching the video, according to the family's lawyer.
Martin's family is expected to speak to the press on Wednesday.
Martin, also known as Debo to his family, was a father to a 5-month-old son. The family said he cared deeply about others, and they believe that while he may have made mistakes, he did not deserve to die for being behind the wheel of a stolen car.
Now, they are seeking answers from law enforcement.
Terra Martin led a demonstration down Benning Road accompanied by family members and friends about a week after the shooting. She said her family is left with lingering questions eight days after her son was shot and killed: “Why wasn’t a taser deployed? Why was the officer in the back of his car? Why was Dalaneo shot in a non-threatening position? Why haven’t involved officers’ names been released?”
The family’s attorney, Andrew O. Clarke, said the family was told by the coroner that Dalaneo was shot multiple times.
“Six shots to the back,” Clarke said. “How can you explain that?”
The two U.S. Park Police officers involved remain on administrative leave.
The deadly shooting is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s internal affairs division.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
