Double Standard? D.C. Police Sergeant Charged with Murder of Black Man Sleeping in His Car

The family of An’Twan Gilmore is finally getting some justice.

CBS News reported Sergeant Enis Jevric of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C will face federal murder charges for the death of Gilmore. He also faces a federal civil rights violation.

In 2021, police received reports of a man sleeping in his car or unconscious behind the wheel of a Black BMW sitting at a stoplight. Close to 3 a.m., one officer approached the car and allegedly spotted a handgun tucked in the man’s waistband. Shortly after, backup was called as several officers, with bulletproof gear, got a closer look. Bodycam footage showed officers tapping on the window before the car began to move before stopping again.

As officers yelled, “Don’t move!,” the vehicle started moving again and officers sprayed close to nine bullets into the car. Gilmore, who was 27 years old, was pronounced dead at the hospital. D.C. U.S. Attorney, Matthew Graves, said this was a major safety violation. “When an officer willfully disregards the safety of a citizen he is sworn to protect, he violates the trust placed in him by virtue of his badge,” Graves said.

According to NBC 4, Jevric has been on paid administrative leave since the incident but pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and was released on personal recognizance.

Metropolitan Police claimed to have worked diligently through this investigation and look forward to outcome. “We are confident that the subsequent criminal proceedings will be deliberated fairly and do recognize this is a difficult matter for everyone involved,” a police statement said.

Other officials don’t understand how something like this could happen in the first place. D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, questioned the difference, on Twitter, between this incident and one happening a week prior when a man, professing to having a bomb, was parked in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress.

Sitting here trying to figure out how law enforcement can successfully deescalate a white domestic terrorist in a truck threatening to blow up the Capitol with a bomb but not a Black man who fell asleep in his car? https://t.co/AQDICRLYfY

— Janeese Lewis George (@Janeese4DC) August 25, 2021

The charges claim Jervis violated Gilmore’s civil rights by “willfully depriving” him of “his right to be free from the use of excessive force.” If convicted, Jervis faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.