#DeonKay: Another Black Teen Killed at the Hands of Cops
Washington D.C. police have released bodycam footage displaying the events that took place when officers shot dead an 18-year-old black man after he allegedly waved a gun during a police chase causing further protests across the city.
Deon Kay passed away on Wednesday after he was shot in the chest by a Metropolitan Police officer identified on Thursday as Alexander Alvarez. Authorities stated that Kay was one of two people who left the scene on Wednesday afternoon when approached by uniformed cops investigating reports of a man with a gun near the 200 block of Orange Street.
Police chief Peter Newsham stated officers recognized Kay on a Livestream video due to previous offenses. In an 11-minute video, cops can be seen running after Kay near an apartment complex in southeast D.C. before closing in on him with their weapons out.
The officer can be heard telling the teen, “Don’t move! Don’t move!” various times as Kay runs towards them with a gun in his hand. He then tossed the weapon “98 feet away,” according to police. The video shows the officer shooting one round, striking Kay in the chest, causing him to pass out on the ground.
The cop is then seen looking for the gun near a grassy area where it was thrown, as he explains what happened to two other cops as they arrive at the scene. It was the first fatal police-involved shooting in D.C. since new police reform laws were put into place earlier this year.
In a press conference after the events, Newsham said Kay was known to officers by name and had been involved in a number of crime-related incidents as a juvenile. However in a time of civic unrest that did not validate the events that occurred.
The incident is currently under investigation and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, per MPD policy. Shortly after protests began in the area where Kay was killed.