The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced Thursday that the Metropolitan Police Department officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Deon Kay in September will not face federal criminal civil rights charges.
An investigation by the attorney’s office’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and MPD’s Internal Affairs Division “uncovered no evidence that would support a criminal prosecution,” according to a press release from acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin.
Kay, a Black man, died on Sept. 2 while police were reportedly following up on information that people had firearms in a parked car in a southeast D.C. parking lot. Upon arrival, the people in the car reportedly got out and ran, including Kay.
Body-worn camera footage released to the public shows an officer, identified by officials as Alexander Alvarez, running after one of the people, then turning around and seeing Kay with a gun. The video appears to show the officer firing a shot as Kay attempted to throw the weapon, which was reportedly recovered 98 feet from the scene.
Prosecutors argue that the U.S. Attorney’s Office “is unable to disprove a claim of self-defense or defense of others by the officer involved, who fired a single shot at Mr. Kay within one second of Mr. Kay holding a gun in his hand and raising his arm.”
Kay later died from a single gunshot wound to the chest at George Washington University Hospital.
Protests erupted following the shooting, and people marched to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s house to demand justice and call for the firing of Police Chief Peter Newsham.
Kay’s death was one of several high-profile police shootings of Black people this summer, including George Floyd, who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
MPD will perform its own investigation to determine if the officer’s use of force was warranted, and the District’s independent auditor will also review the incident.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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