Protesters blasted police in Washington, D.C., for the shooting death of a man on a motorcycle Monday morning, calling for more transparency.
Family and friends of 31-year-old Terrence Sterling gathered on the corner of 3rd and M Street Northwest to protest his death at the hands of an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Sept. 11. Officers with the MPD fired on Sterling after he allegedly and with purpose rammed his motorcycle into the passenger side door of a police cruiser, but the officer who fired the shots did not have his body camera turned on during the incident, reports WTOP.
“Police in D.C. have to be accountable,” April Goggans, a Black Lives Matter organizer, told WTOP. “We want the names of the officers and we want them fired immediately.”
Witnesses contradicted the police account, claiming the collision was an accident and the officer leaned out his window and shot Sterling, who was unarmed. Both officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the department’s investigation, reports NBC Washington.
“I know that there’s great officers, but these bad cops are putting a bad name on them,” Jerry Swanson, a protester, told WTOP.
City officials reworked the body camera policy for the police department in the wake of the shooting, taking steps to confirm an officer has the camera turned on before responding to a call. The MPD continues to investigate the shooting and said they cannot release details to the public until its conclusion.
“This is an investigation,” Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham told NBC4. “You have to get all the evidence. You have to get all the witness testimony.”
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