Protesters in Washington, D.C. have taken to the streets after a 20-year-old man on a scooter was killed after allegedly being pursued by police.
Karon Hylton-Brown was reportedly riding a moped on the sidewalk one week ago without a helmet when D.C. police tried to stop him, and he didn’t stop. Police allegedly had been pursuing him for two minutes when he crashed into a car coming out of an alley. Hylton-Brown died from his injuries Monday, three days later.
Official policy of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia states that officers are not allowed to pursue vehicles involved in traffic infractions.
A police source anonymously spoke to The Washington Post, saying that “from the video, it appears to be a pursuit. But we don’t have enough information to make a final determination on that.”
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Protesters have marched around police headquarters for two nights, chanting “Justice for Karon” and “Who do you serve, who do you protect?”
A protective fence was erected around the headquarters after several windows were broken earlier this week.
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D.C. police have deployed eye irritants and flashbangs against demonstrators. Chief Peter Newsham said at a press conference that 14 officers have been injured. Eight protesters have been arrested.
According to WUSA9, the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter says 200 protesters have been injured.
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Karen Hylton, Hylton-Brown’s mother, has been leading protests. She has demanded to speak to the officer who she says “killed her son.”
“It’s mind-boggling,” she said Tuesday. “This was so unnecessary.”
Family and friends of Hylton-Brown want to see video footage of the chase, with some alleging that officers possibly struck the man’s moped with their vehicle.
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“We are engaged directly with the next of kin about their ability to view the body-worn camera footage,” Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Roger Mitchell said in an emailed statement to a local D.C. NBC affiliate. “We are coordinating with the Department of Behavioral Health to provide the family with the space and trauma-informed support they need to view the body-worn camera footage.”
According to reports, Hylton-Brown died on the day his newborn daughter turned three months old.
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