D.C. Police Shoot and Kill Black Man; Protestors Gather Outside D.C. POlice Station

Another Black man has been killed by a Police officer. This time the shooting occurred in Washington, D.C.

Relatives have identified the victim as Deon Kay, who turned 18 years old last month and lived with his mother about a half-mile from where he was shot and killed.

The incident took place around 4 pm Wednesday afternoon in Southeast Washington’s Congress Heights neighborhood in the 200 blocks of Orange Street SE.

According to D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham, officers were responding to a call about a vehicle and weapons. When authorities approached the vehicle, they claim people started running away, the Washington Post reports.

An investigation into the incident and responding officers of the 7th district is in its very early stages. Newsham did not say whether one or more officers have been fired from the force or what provoked police to shoot. Two firearms were recovered at the scene, and two people were taken into custody.

When asked if Kay was armed, Newsham said that answer would be determined in the investigation, but authorities “believe the suspect had a gun at that time.”

But residents near the shooting are questioning the officers’ response, as a few dozen demonstrators gathered at the 7th district police station Wednesday night, including Kay’s aunt. However, Police have since pushed the crowd away from the station by using bicycles as a barrier.

Included in the demonstrators are D.C. Black Lives Matter protesters, who tweeted ‘Don’t let MPD control the narrative! Police lie! We’re on our way.’

D.C Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) told reporters that the community is “concerned about a young man being shot.”

Youth mentor Omar Jackson worked with Kay
for the past two years and said he “was trying to navigate through this chaotic situation out here.” Kay just got admitted into a high school equivalency program. He described Kay as a young man who liked to spend time with his girlfriend and play sports; he also helped take care of his nieces and nephews.

Kay’s mother, Natasha Kay, was planning on leaving the area because it had gotten rough.

“They took my baby, they just took my baby from me,” his mother, Natasha Kay, said hours after the incident and said police told her very little about the shooting.
“I need my son back. I want my son back.”
“He was trying to get himself together and get out of this situation,” Jackson added. “I feel bad. My job is to keep him out of situations like this.”

Kay’s aunt Marie McNeil, 57, said she was just joking with her nephew earlier that morning about him driving her car. “He told me, ‘Auntie, I love you,'” and she said, “I love you too.”

McNeil said she told Kay not to get into trouble, and he told her he wouldn’t. “I made sure that he was good,” she said.

crowd gathered in front and 7th District MPD Station in protest of fatal police shooting earlier this evening. They’re chanting “justice for Deon,” the young man identified by family and friends as victim pic.twitter.com/D4cfNvBNi5

— Michael Brice-Saddler (@TheArtist_MBS) September 3, 2020

Meanwhile, White addressed the tension between the police and residents of Ward 8, which includes residents living in an area with economic challenges and high crime rates.

He also opened up about the different accounts of the incident, expressing the importance of getting to the truth.

“I want to get the truth out about what happened,” White said. “We need to figure out what the facts are. We are concerned.”

A new law passed by D.C. Council enacted to increase police accountability mandates police departments to make video open to the public from the body cameras worn by officers who fire their weapons in deadly shootings. It appears Kay’s video will be released under this new law, as long as Kay’s family does not reject its release to the public. If they don’t, then police have 5 business days to release it.

This year alone, D.C. police have shot four people, Wednesday’s shooting is the single fatality. Last year it was 5 people; one of them died, and in 2018 it was two police-involved shootings, both ending in fatalities.

Family members and friends gathered on the stoop and porch of Natasha Kay’s home as she sat staring out the window and crying. When one person went inside and asked if they could get her anything, she said, “my son.” A police car was parked at the corner.

How many more black mothers have to cry?