D.C. officials released Tuesday the body-worn camera video footage of a police officer who fatally shot a motorcyclist earlier this month.
The video footage — which was released by Kevin Donahue, deputy mayor for public safety and justice — starts after the shooting occurred early on Sept. 11. It shows Officer Brian Trainer, who fired the fatal shot, and others trying to revive Terrence Sterling, 31, who died in the incident.
Around 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 11, Metropolitan Police officers said they saw a motorcycle driving erratically in the vicinity of 15th and U streets NW. A few minutes later, another officer saw a matching motorcycle near Third and M streets NW.
Police said the officer had exited the passenger side of his cruiser to confront the motorcyclist when the man “intentionally” drove his bike into the passenger door. That’s when Officer Trainer shot and killed Sterling.
Officer Trainer, who has been on the force for four years, was the only officer on the scene equipped with a body-worn camera, but he did not activate it until after the shooting.
At a breakfast with D.C. Council members Tuesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said it took two weeks to release the footage because it would not have been appropriate to release the officer’s name before an investigation of the shooting was complete.
“We are focused on transparency and making sure all of our partners in justice have what they need to investigate,” Ms. Bowser said, adding that public pressure was not involved in the decision to release the footage.
Since Sterling’s shooting death, the Metropolitan Police Department has updated its policy to require officers to confirm with dispatchers that their body cameras are activated when they respond to calls.
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