US Park Police officer won't be charged in shooting death of 17-year-old woken up by police
A U.S. Park Police officer who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy after getting into a car being driven by the young man will not face charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
There was “insufficient evidence” following "a comprehensive review" of the fatal March 18 shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin in Washington, D.C., prosecutors said in a Thursday news release.
Officers found Martin asleep in a car they believed was stolen, and a Park Police officer got into the back of car while other officers worked to restrain the teen in the front. After a struggle Martin drove away with an officer in the back seat. The trapped officer shot screamed for Martin to let him out of the car before shooting him multiple times. Martin crashed the car into a house and was declared dead on the scene.
Martin’s mother, Terra Martin, said in a news conference earlier this year that she wanted the officers involved in the shooting to be charged with murder.
"I don't eat, I don't sleep and justice needs to be served," she said.
USA TODAY was reaching out to her attorney Friday for comment on the development.
What did the body camera footage show?
In the weeks following the death of Martin, body camera footage of the shooting was released to the public.
Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle and found Martin asleep in the driver's seat of a car police said was reported stolen earlier that month. The engine was running and the ignition was damaged, police said.
Additional Metro officers and two Park Police officers arrived to help detain Martin, the department said. The group can be heard discussing how to remove Martin from the car in body camera footage.
The officers surround the car on both sides, enter the vehicle and attempt to restrain Martin, the footage shows. One officer falls to the ground on the driver's side as Martin drives away with a Park Police officer still in the back seat.
“Stop man, just let me out. Let me go!" the officer yells while Martin keeps driving. “Stop. Stop or I’ll shoot!”
One second later, the officer shoots Martin in the back multiple times and the car veers off of the road and into a nearby home. The same officer gets out of the car and does CPR on Martin but to no avail as he is then pronounced dead on the scene.
"After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the United State Park Police Officer is criminally liable for Mr. Martin’s death," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely."
Martin's family reacts to footage
Martin's family was outraged after watching the footage of the shooting, with his mother saying: "He murdered my baby," family attorney Jade Mathis said in April.
She said the medical examiner told her that Martin, a father to a 7-month-old son, had been shot six times.
USA TODAY was reaching out to the U.S. Park Police for further comment.
The U.S. Attorney's Office called the footage of the shooting "extremely upsetting" at the time.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.