WASHINGTON — A vigil in Southeast was held by Black Lives Matter DC on Saturday to remember Deon Kay, who was shot last Wednesday by a Metropolitan Police Department officer.
Speakers at the vigil included Kay's older sister, teachers and community members that taught or know his family. Some who also spoke grew up with the man, helped raise him, and had personal interactions with the young man themselves.
Those gathered spoke about a wide range of views impacting Black communities and systemic racial problems involving police shootings in the United States.
Some mentioned that the way police have depicted Kay makes him seem like a threat to society. It's something Kay's sister, who was very emotional during her speech, said wasn't true.
"I don't care what yall say he did. He did nothing to the police. He did nothing to them. ...yall can perpetrate or paint him as whatever yall want him to be," said Kay's sister.
Other speakers challenged people to not count on police fully to do what can be done on their own, and to reinvest in their communities. One speaker eluded that people should go out of their way to make sure other young men like Deon don't fall through the system and become a statistic.
The Metropolitan Police Department released body camera footage from the Wednesday afternoon incident involving a police officer shooting and killing of 18-year-old Deon Kay in Southeast D.C.
The 11-minute body camera video shows the shooting and the aftermath from the perspective of Alexander Alvarez, the officer who shot Deon Kay.
In the video, Kay did produce a gun before Alvarez fired a single bullet into the 18-year-old's chest. Some have raised questions though about if the young man was trying to toss the gun, and if the shooting was justified.
View the vigil for Deon Kay below:
What you need to know:
- Right before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, DC Police officers responded to the 200 block of Orange Street in Southeast, responding to a vehicle shown in a livestreamed video on social media showing guns in the vehicle, according to MPD Chief Peter Newsham.
- Bodycam footage released Thursday from the perspective of officer Alexander Alvarez shows the officers approaching the vehicle they were looking for.
- One man is seen running and Alvarez pursues him.
- After several feet of running, Alvarez turns around to see 18-year-old Deon Kay with a gun in his right hand, appearing to toss the gun past Alvarez.
- Alvarez fires his weapon once, shooting and killing Kay
- Peaceful protests occurred outside of Mayor Muriel Bowser's home and outside the 7th District police station, urging for justice.
What happened
At around 3:50 p.m., police were working a tip that there were guns in a vehicle in the area that was shown on a livestreamed social media video, according to MPD Chief of Police Peter Newsham.
Chief Newsham said the shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 200 block of Orange Street, Southeast.
In the body camera footage released by Chief Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowser, MPD officer Alvarez exits his car and begins to approach a separate parked car. One man is seen running away, prompting Alvarez and other officers behind him to pursue.
Alvarez runs after the two men and is heard yelling "don't move" multiple times. Alvarez runs several feet before turning around, where Kay is seen in between him and the other officers in pursuit. Kay is holding a gun in his right hand and appears to toss the weapon over Alvarez's head when Alvarez fires a single shot, striking Kay in the chest.
Kay was transported to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, but was later pronounced dead.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor Bowser and Chief Newsham discussed the video along with the findings during their preliminary investigation.
"The footage is an important tool to hold officers accountable," Bowser said during the news conference.
NOTE: Graphic Content. MPD provided this bodycam footage to us with the blur already edited on several subjects. We made no edits to it.
