Northeast, D.C. — The family of a man killed when his illegal dirt bike crashed into a D.C. police cruiser is demanding the agency own up.
"I'm hurting everyday," said Jeffrey Price Sr. His son, 22-year-old Jeffrey Price Jr., was killed on May 4 along Division Avenue Northeast. Friday, friends and family gathered at the crash site, fearing police-involved deaths are becoming too common in the District.
Only hours earlier, D.C. police announced the termination Brian Trainer, the officer who shot and killed Terrence Sterling in September 2016. The black man was unarmed.
"Police should not be doing what they're doing to cause death to people," said the elder Price.
Price's family insists that police were chasing him, in spite of a MPD policy explicitly prohibiting officers from chasing illegal bikes. In the days after the crash, Chief Peter Newsham stressed police were not chasing Price.
"Had police operated according proper protocols, it never would have happened," said Attorney David Shurtz, who is representing the family. Shurtz says the same thing happened to a client nine years ago.
Six weeks after the crash, Price's family says they are demanding accountably and action so another son does not become a statistic.
"I just want justice for my son," said Price.
