WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- The
family of the 15-year-old girl that D.C. police officer Marc Washington
allegedly took half naked photos of is suing the District for 10 million
dollars.
Officer Marc Washington was
arrested and charged with producing child pornography in December of 2013.
Washington was on duty, in
uniform and armed when he went to the home of the 15-year-old asked to speak to
her privately, instructed her to remove her shirt and took photos of her,
prosecutors said.
The 15-year-old had been
reported missing earlier in the day, and Washington told the girl he needed the
naked photographs to identify her if she ever ran away again, investigators
alleged.
Washington was found dead from
an apparent suicide shortly after the charges arose.
"It's been traumatic, as
you can imagine this child is 15 years old when this happened, it was against
her will, she protested at the time and was nevertheless ordered by Mr. Marc
Washington to disrobe and allow him to take these pictures, she didn't
understand what was going on but he was an authority figure," Scott Lucas,
the attorney representing the 15-year-old's family, told WUSA9.
The teen's parents have filed
the lawsuit on her behalf for alleged negligence.
"Negligence on behalf of
the city would be in terms of the supervision and the training of Officer Marc
Washington, that he had done this," Lucas explained.
When the charges first arose in
December Police Chief Cathy Lanier expressed outrage over the allegations
against Washington.
"It's devastating for the
whole agency, what a lot of people don't realize is that this is a blow to the
gun of every good police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department,"
Lanier said.
In the time since the case
originated, the family says the city has not done enough to help the
15-year-old and her family. The family also contends that police have prevented
the family from finding out more about Washington's actions while on duty.
WUSA9 reached out the The
Metropoiltan Police Department, and was told that they have no comment on the
case at this time.
