....1,000 to one is an expression, please
DO NOT SEND THE FAIRFAX COUNTY SWAT TEAM HERE TO KILL ME FOR GAMBLING
DO NOT SEND THE FAIRFAX COUNTY SWAT TEAM HERE TO KILL ME FOR GAMBLING
FOX 5's Marina Marraco reports.
WASHINGTON -
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that an officer involved in the deadly
shooting of a motorcyclist on Sunday morning was wearing a body camera, but did
not turn the camera on to record video footage until after the shooting took
place.
D.C.
police said Terrence Sterling of Fort Washington, Maryland was seen riding his
bike erratically near 17th and U Streets in Adams Morgan at around 4:30 a.m.
Sunday. About ten minutes later, Sterling wound up at 3rd and M Streets where
he was shot and killed.
However,
a witness to the shooting told FOX 5 about a different account of the incident.
Kandace Simms said she had just picked up a friend and was sitting in the
right-hand lane waiting at the traffic light at 3rd and M Streets.
"So
I pulled up to the light and I was there by myself for some time and some cars
were coming behind me, but then I saw a motorcycle come on the left of me and
then the police car blocked the motorcycle, so they kind of came at the same
exact time,” said Simms. “The motorcycle was trying to speed off and drive
away, but he couldn't because he was kind of caught in between the sidewalk at
the curb and the police car. So the police were trying to open the passenger
side door and he couldn't because the motorcycle was right there, and I guess
when he couldn't open the door, he rolled down his window and shot twice.”
Simms
said her windows were rolled down and she heard no commands coming from the
officer in the cruiser. She said she saw the motorcycle strike the cruiser
once.
“It
did, but that is because they blocked him,” she said. “The police car wasn't
right there when I pulled up."
According
to Simms, she believes the collision looked unavoidable.
On
Sunday morning, D.C. Police Assistant Chief Peter Newsham gave this account to
reporters.
"Officers
found the vehicle over here at the intersection of 3rd and M Streets,
Northwest, which is about a block north of New York Avenue,” he said. “They
were able to stop the vehicle. The person who was riding the motorcycle
attempted to flee and ended up striking the police car. At that point, shots
were fired. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced
dead.”
According
to a D.C. Fire and EMS radio broadcast FOX 5 has been able to hear, Sterling
was shot in the neck.
At a
Monday afternoon news conference, Mayor Bowser said she called the victim’s
family to offer her condolences and revealed only the aftermath of the shooting
was captured on a police body camera.
"Our
preliminary review does not show any camera footage prior to the shooting
incident,” Bowser said.
Officers
wearing body cameras are under strict orders to turn them on as soon as they
begin an encounter with a member of the public.
D.C.
police said the officer involved in the shooting did not suffer serious
injuries and was placed on administrative leave.
Sterling,
31, had worked for more than a decade as an HVAC technician at a contracting
firm. Sterling's mother confirmed to FOX 5 Mayor Bowser had called the family
to extend her condolences. She would not say if their family had retained an
attorney.
Anyone
with information about the case is asked to contact police at 202-727-9099.