Video Shows U.S. Park Police Fatally Shooting Black Teenager 5 Times in Back; Federal Investigation Underway

After the public release of bodycam footage, a federal investigation into the fatal shooting of a Black teenager by police officers last month in Washington, D.C. has been launched.

According to NBC News, 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin was killed March 18 after U.S. Park Police officers shot him in the back five times. Video was released Wednesday showing the incident, and Martin’s family is calling on the police officers involved in the killing to be held accountable and arrested.

“In coordination with the FBI Washington Field Office, the United States Attorney’s Office has opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances leading to Mr. Martin’s death,” the attorney’s office said in a statement. “That investigation—which we are committed to conducting diligently and thoroughly—is ongoing. As this is an open matter, we are not able to provide additional comment or release further information at this time.”

Park police initially stated that two police officers, a Park Police sergeant and an officer, responded to a report of a stolen vehicle early morning before 9 a.m. on March 18 at the 3400 block of Baker Street, NE, in Washington, D.C.

Police claimed that in an effort to detain Martin, he supposedly fled the scene with a USPP officer inside the vehicle. Specifically, the USPP sergeant was “dragged by the fleeing car from outside the vehicle,” which the video appears to contradict. (The officer is seen in the back of the car.) After the police officer allegedly demanded Martin stop the car, the officer said Martin didn’t. That led to the officer shooting the driver. They claimed a firearm was recovered inside the car, which crashed into a house on the 300 block of 36th Street.

The family’s attorney, Andrew O. Clarke, held a press conference Wednesday.

“Dalaneo did not have to die,” Clarke said. “How long will they be able to hide behind their badge to justify taking a life? How long will we as a community have to continue to have the talk with our young Black children because they are treated differently by police? … We will continue to pursue justice for Dalaneo with or without the help of the federal government or the District of Columbia.”

The bodycam footage can be seen here.