The household of a 31-year-old man who was fatally shot by a D.C. police sergeant within the Brightwood Park space final summer season denounced federal prosecutors Tuesday for his or her resolution to not pursue prison expenses within the case.
Washington, D.C
Family criticizes prosecutors who cleared D.C. sergeant in fatal shooting
“I don’t understand how they arrive to their conclusion,” mentioned Yvette Shird, 52, certainly one of Hargraves-Shird’s sisters. “They should do higher. They should do rather a lot higher.”
The household’s lawyer, Yaida O. Ford, mentioned the choice to not deliver expenses “demonstrates an absence of accountability” in an workplace that investigates police conduct. She referred to as the U.S. lawyer’s workplace assertion “irresponsible.”
Patricia Hartman, a spokeswoman for the D.C. U.S. lawyer’s workplace, declined to remark. Prosecutors mentioned of their assertion there was “inadequate proof to pursue” a prison case towards Sgt. Reinaldo Otero-Camacho.
The sergeant stays on administrative depart as D.C. police start their inside assessment to find out if the 17-year veteran violated insurance policies or procedures within the taking pictures. In a short interview final week, Otero-Camacho mentioned the incident was a “unhappy scenario for everyone concerned.”
The taking pictures occurred in July in Fort Slocum Park in Northwest Washington, throughout a pursuit that adopted the taking pictures of two juveniles a number of blocks away on Longfellow Avenue.
A video of the encounter, launched by police, confirmed the sergeant yelling “gun” a number of occasions simply earlier than firing at Hargraves-Shird, who was 35 yards away. The footage didn’t present what risk, if any, prompted the sergeant to fireside.
Police mentioned Hargraves-Shird was struck in the fitting ear, and a gun was recovered close to the place he fell. Of their assertion, prosecutors mentioned that Hargraves-Shird’s DNA was discovered on the firearm and that he “was possible going through” Otero-Camacho when the sergeant fired a single shot.
Ford took situation with that a part of the assertion, saying prosecutors jumped to the fallacious conclusion about which means Hargraves-Shird was going through based mostly on the bullet’s entry level.
Prosecutors, Ford mentioned, made “the wild assertion that Mr. Shird was possible going through the officer when he was shot. That’s completely not true.”
Ford mentioned that the pathologist employed by the household believed the proof exhibits “that Kevin was not going through the officer in any method earlier than the officer fired his weapon.” She mentioned the sergeant fired as Hargraves-Shird ran from his car and was struck as he “rotated his head to look behind him whereas he was working.”
The lawyer additionally mentioned the sergeant gave no instructions for Hargraves-Shird to cease. Police on the time of the taking pictures mentioned there is no such thing as a authorized requirement for such a warning. The police chief mentioned the sergeant could have yelled “gun” to warn a gaggle of people that had been taking part in on a close-by moon bounce.