O’Malley shot and killed a suspect in a carjacking in March. The swift decision to prosecute has prompted outrage by the police union and law enforcement officials.

O’Malley, 33, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for the death of Stephenson King, 39, who was shot March 11 while he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop in a stolen car. Prosecutors determined that O’Malley had no justification for shooting at a moving vehicle.

“It is disappointing that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is choosing to second-guess an officer whose only goal was to protect the public,” O’Malley’s lawyer, David Yannetti, said in an email to the Globe. “We will continue to vigorously defend this officer and this case.”

“The main issue in this case will be who the aggressor really was and whether Officer O’Malley acted in lawful defense,” Yannetti wrote in court filings.

On Wednesday, Yannetti filed several defense motions in the Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court, in an effort to illustrate “King’s mayhem and reign of terror,” spanning nearly two decades and resulting in more than 17 criminal cases across Massachusetts, court records show.

Over the years, King has been charged with strangulation, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carjacking, breaking and entering, gun charges, and resisting arrest, according to court filings.

At the time of his death, King was free on bail for at least three separate felony cases, and had active warrants for his arrest, court records said.

O’Malley is seeking King’s mental health, criminal, and court records from all of his past cases, recordings from police body-worn and dash cameras, the medical examiner’s file on King, along with statements taken from O’Malley and witnesses at the scene of the shooting.

O’Malley told investigators that when he shot King he feared for his own life and for the life of another office on the scene, believing his colleague was about to be run over.

Police had pursued King after he allegedly committed a carjacking outside a pizza restaurant in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. About 15 minutes later, officers stopped the stolen car less than a mile away, at Linwood Square in Roxbury.

The driver ignored “multiple verbal commands” as officers approached and tried to drive away, police said.

King opened the car window, but did not turn the vehicle off. O’Malley drew his Taser and shouted, “Bro, I’m going to [expletive] shoot you,” the police report said.

That’s when King backed into the cruiser behind him, then maneuvered the vehicle forward and back “in an attempt to escape the police,” according to the report.

As King started to drive forward again, O’Malley fired three shots through the driver’s window, striking King, the report said.

King’s family has contended that he was experiencing a mental health crisis in the hours leading up to the deadly encounter.

In court filings, O’Malley’s lawyer, Yannetti, said King gave “O’Malley no choice that night.”

“Any suggestion that this shooting was precipitated by simply a ‘mental health crisis’ completely misses the point,” Yannetti wrote. “When facing an extremely dangerous threat, there is no time for a police officer to hold a counseling session on the street or to sit down to discuss the feelings of a menace who is intent on using a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon.”

“If a man is going to assault and carjack an innocent woman then threaten the lives and safety of the public and a police officer, that man needs to be stopped — whether he is in his right mind or not,” according to O’Malley’s motion.

O”Malley’s next court date, a probable-cause hearing, is scheduled for May 21.

Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.

The Boston Celtics closed out one of the more remarkable regular seasons in recent franchise history, winning 56 games despite not having Jayson Tatum for most of the year. Tatum had ruptured his Achilles tendon the previous May. He spent 10 and a half months rebuilding his body, returned late in the season, and still gave Boston a real championship chance heading into the playoffs.

The ending did not match the climb. A 3-1 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers disappeared, and knee stiffness ruled Tatum out of Game 7. He watched from the bench as the season slipped away.

It was a painful finish to a season that had carried real beauty in it. Now the offseason has arrived, and Tatum has something he did not have before returning this year. Time.

In a recent interview, he made clear exactly what he plans to do with it.

Tatum Opens Up About What He’s Chasing

The Celtics won Banner 18 in 2024. Tatum was central to everything that happened during that run, and the championship validated what Boston had built around him.

But one piece of that night stayed with him.

Speaking on the Glass Half Full podcast with journalist Craig Melvin, Tatum was asked what he was still chasing. His answer was direct.

“Winning another championship and holding up Finals MVP,” Tatum said.

When Melvin asked whether he could accomplish that in Boston, Tatum did not hesitate.

“Absolutely,” Tatum said.

What Tatum Showed at Less Than Full Strength

Across six playoff games against Philadelphia, Tatum averaged 23.3 points, nearly 11 rebounds, and close to seven assists while shooting at the best clip of his postseason career. He did that while still navigating the limits of a body that had not fully caught up yet.

Tatum said himself he was operating at around 80 to 85 percent. That matters. Not as an excuse for the series result, but as evidence.

The player capable of leading another championship run is still there. The healthy version is what Boston is waiting on now.

GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 28: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics takes a shot against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during Game Five of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff at TD Garden on April 28, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Why the Goal Is Bigger Than It Sounds

Winning another championship in Boston would put Tatum in rare company.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, two of the defining Celtics of their era, never won multiple titles with the franchise. A second ring, with a Finals MVP attached, would change the way Tatum’s entire Boston career is discussed.

He understands the difficulty.

At his exit interview after the Philadelphia series, Tatum acknowledged how hard it is to repeat in the NBA, pointing out that no team had done it since the Golden State Warriors dynasty.

“There’s always been a sense of urgency since my rookie year,” Tatum said. “And that won’t change.”

GettyJayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy on June 17, 2024.

Final Word for the Celtics

Tatum came back from an Achilles rupture and proved the player Boston built around was still there. Not fully. Not perfectly. But enough. He played through limits, and still gave them a chance in a series that eventually got away from them.

Now he gets the thing this season never really gave him.

A real offseason.

The ring is already there. The next chase is more specific. Another championship. A Finals MVP. In Boston.

Keith Watkins Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. More about Keith Watkins

The Red Sox didn’t need a reminder that they failed to add a big bat during the offseason.

Kyle Schwarber gave them one anyway.

Schwarber, a fan-favorite trade deadline addition by Boston in 2021, put the Philadelphia Phillies on the board in the top of the first with his 17th home run of the season.

Though members of the front office stated and reiterated throughout the offseason that power-hitting was a need and priority, the Red Sox never made an offer to Schwarber when he briefly became a free agent before re-signing with the Phillies.

Power remains a need for the Red Sox, who’ve hit a combined 29 home runs this year and have the fourth-lowest run total in the majors. Willson Contreras, absent from Tuesday’s lineup after a hit-by-pitch on the hand Sunday, leads the roster with eight homers.

The Red Sox out-hit their guests seven to five, but wasted their scarce opportunities and fell 2-1 in a quick and quiet two hours and 29 minutes.

Zack Wheeler looked like a man en route to a complete-game shutout for most of the night. Philly’s veteran ace dominated the Boston bats for 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball, with six hits, one hit batsman, zero walks and four strikeouts.

It’s not hyperbole to say the Red Sox lineup’s early innings were the weakest offensive performance in over a quarter-century. Wheeler’s 16 pitches after three 1-2-3 innings were the fewest by any major league starter through the first three innings since at least 2000.

Said frames were even more impressive given the two leadoff baserunners the Wheeler allowed; he hit Masataka Yoshida with the first pitch of the second, and gave up a leadoff single to Marcelo Mayer in the third. The Red Sox erased both almost instantly with double plays by Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin.

The game continued at a breakneck pace. The fewest pitches thrown in a nine-inning outing since 1988 were 74 by Carlos Silva in 2005 and Aaron Cook in 2007. It looked like Wheeler was well on his way to a similar performance. He averaged 2.75 pitches per batter through five innings, faced the minimum in five of the first six, and his pitch count sat at 59 after the sixth.

The Red Sox didn’t put multiple men on base until the seventh. Mickey Gasper led off with a single. For a brief, shining moment it looked like Wilyer Abreu had tied the game with a home run to deep right field. And it would have been, at any of the other 29 major league ballparks.

Story’s two-out single put two men on for Ceddanne Rafaela, who blooped a single to shallow right to end Wheeler’s shutout bid and cut Philly’s deficit to one.

Wheeler’s performance overshadowed a similarly dominant bulk-innings outing by Brayan Bello, who held the Phillies to one earned run on four hits, one walk, and struck out five in 6 1/3 innings from the top second through one out in the eighth.

Left-hander Jovani Morán opened for Bello for the second consecutive turn in the rotation, and again couldn’t pitch a clean first inning. Schwarber went deep before Morán struck out Bryce Harper and Adolis Garcia to end the frame.

Bello battled when he entered for the top of the second, then settled in. Brandon Marsh greeted the Red Sox righty with a first-pitch single and scored on Bryson Stott’s one-out ground-rule double to right field. Bello issued a walk to Justin Crawford, whose father Carl played for Boston in 2011-12. Stott and Crawford completed a successful double steal before Bello struck out leadoff man Trea Turner to end the inning.

Beginning with Turner, Bello retired 17 of his last 19 batters. The exceptions were two-out singles by Stott and Alec Bohm in fourth and seventh, respectively, but neither man advanced past first base.

Leading with his sinker (56%), Bello racked up 11 swing-and-misses. Only six of the Phillies’ 18 batted-ball events against him were hard-hit (an exit velocity of at least 95 mph).

Tyler Samaniego replaced Bello and finished the eighth inning with a strikeout swinging for Adolis Garcia, who splintered his bat in frustration before he walked back to the visitors’ dugout. Samaniego is the second pitcher in franchise history to begin his career with at least 13 consecutive scoreless appearances (Robby Scott, 2016-17).

The game slowed down when Wheeler exited in the bottom of the eighth, but the results were the same. Carlos Narvaez led off the eighth with a first-pitch single and Wheeler got a first-pitch flyout from Durbin, his final batter of the night.

Jarren Duran greeted left-hander Jose Alvarado with what was initially ruled a single, but upon review pinch-runner Connor Wong was out at second on an unassisted fielder’s choice by Turner. Duran advanced to third on a throwing error by Realmuto and his 100th career stolen base, but Gasper struck out swinging to end the threat.

There was little hope when the Phillies deployed flamethrower Jhoan Duran. Yoshida rocketed a one-out single through the left side of the infield, and the replay review showed pinch-runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa hadn’t been caught stealing second after all. Jhoan Duran walked Story to put two on, then struck out Rafaela and got a game-ending groundout from Mayer.

The Red Sox were 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. They are 17-24 this season.