This post has been updated with comments from the D.C. Police Union.
The Metropolitan Police Department released body camera footage from the scene of a police-involved shooting last week that left a 63-year-old man dead. Police say they recovered Sherman Evans’ BB gun at the scene.
Police responded to a report about a man with a gun in 100 block of Varnum Street NE around 10:22 p.m. on July 27, MPD said in a release the next day. The 16-minute-long footage is a combination of film from two officers.
The video shows officers arriving at the scene near Catholic University to find Evans with a weapon in his hand. He’s standing on a small grassy hill outside of an apartment building. From the street and sidewalk, police begin telling Evans to drop his gun. They begin speaking aggressively but over the course of several minutes, officers give the instructions in a more calm manner. “Come on sir, just put it down … we’ll talk,” one officer says.
As one of the officers captures the incident on his body-worn camera, he moves behind a car in an apparent attempt to shield himself. The camera is aimed away from Evans during this time, and a few seconds later, the sound of several gun shots are heard. Afterward, officers run toward Evans and put him in handcuffs. An unconscious Evans is then turned over as police try to revive him.
One of the officers is heard telling someone that they shot Evans because he raised his gun at them. He was taken to a hospital where he died, according to MPD.
City Administrator Rashad Young told NBC 4 that investigators linked Evans to the initial call about a person with a gun. “Our dispatchers called back that number. It is a number that appears to belong to the decedent and appears to have his name on his voicemail,” Young said. He added that they aren’t drawing any conclusions at this point.
The release comes as bystander videos of fatal police-involved shootings this week in Louisiana and Minnesota have drawn outrage, prompting protests and further investigation by the Department of Justice.
Last December, the D.C. Council passed a bill allowing District residents to view most footage recorded by MPD officers in public places.
The same day, MPD released its first piece of footage from the program, involving the death of 27-year-old Alonzo Smith at the hands of special police officers in Southeast. That video would have been exempt from FOIA because the U.S. attorney’s office is investigating the case, but the mayor has the power to release footage that is deemed of significant public interest under the new law. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced General Counsel Betsy Cavendish would review all footage from law enforcement-involved shootings, deaths in custody, and incidents of serious bodily injury involving officers and determine if it should be released. “We will weight the benefits of disclosure against the possible harm, such as health and privacy concerns, protecting confidential police sources and witnesses,” Bowser said at the time.
In response to the footage of Evans’ shooting being released, the D.C. Police Union wrote that its leaders are displeased. As the incident is currently being investigated by MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the video’s release comes too soon, said the union’s chairman Matthew Mahl, who added that he told Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office about his concerns. “It is my hope that this single incident does not set any type of precedent, and body camera footage will be released at a more appropriate time in the future,” Mahl said in a release. “This is a difficult time both mentally and emotionally for the members involved, and I do not want this hasty action by the mayor’s office to jeopardize anything more than our member’s perception of their city leaders.”
Warning: This video contains graphic footage.
