Washington DC shut down over Brian Trainer’s shooting, killing Terrence Sterling, police not answering questions

Over 200 protesters took to the streets of Washington DC over the death of Terrence Sterling, an unarmed black motorist shot by a police officer Brian Trainer back on September 11. The groups, like Black Lives Matter, are demanding accountability the police, questioning why the bodycam wasn’t turned on until after the shooting and calling for Trainer’s arrest.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a change to the city’s body camera policy in response to the shooting.

“We have immediately implemented procedures to ensure that body worn cameras are being activated properly and as intended by the body worn camera protocol,” Bowser said. “Dispatchers began reminding officers to turn on their body worn cameras when they are dispatched to calls for service.”

Alternating between chants of “Black lives matter,” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” the protests are part of larger anti-police brutality demonstrations across the US. The protesters are carrying portraits of people killed by police over the last few years.

Terrence Sterling

BLM is being joined by the Malcolm X influenced, anti-capitalist group Pan-African Community Action (PACA)^1,2, Muslim Women’s Policy Forum (MAWPF) battling the colonialism, capitalism and oppression of America³, Asian Islander Resistance (API), and the anti-police group: Stop Police Terror Project DC⁴.

Trainer, 27, has not been arrested and family is outraged after watching the footage.

According to the Washington Post, extra footage shown to Sterling’s family shows that officers had called their union representative in the aftermath before the ambulance arrived.

The Sterling family’s lawyer, Jason Downs, believes “the officers involved did not follow department policy, when they created a barricade using their cars, in order to apprehend Mr. Sterling.”

Here’s the police reporting of the incident: Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau responded to a police-involved shooting that occurred on Sunday, September 11, 2016, at the corner of 3rd Street and M Street, Northwest.

At approximately 4:30 am, an officer observed a motorcyclist driving recklessly near the 1700 block of U Street, Northwest. A few minutes later, another MPD officer observed a motorcycle matching the same description near 3rd Street and M Street, Northwest. When the officer was exiting the passenger side of his marked police cruiser to stop the driver, the motorcyclist intentionally drove into the passenger door and the officer fired his service weapon.

The motorcyclist, identified as 31-year-old Terrence Sterling, of Fort Washington, Maryland, was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The officer involved in this incident did not sustain serious injuries and has been placed on administrative leave.

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Butter Bracco - Roxanne "Butter" Bracco began with the Dispatch as Pittsburgh Correspondent, but will be providing reports and insights from Washington DC, Maryland and the surrounding region. Contact Roxie aka "Butter" at [email protected] ATTN: Roxie or Butter Bracco