Protesters smashed a squad car window and punched holes in the panes of glass fronting the Fourth District Station of Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday, demanding accountability after the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown. Police say Hylton-Brown rode a moped out of an alley and struck a passenger vehicle. Witnesses say they saw police chase Hylton-Brown and said his death was an extension of a pattern of police harassment of young Black men in the neighborhood.

The protest began in the early evening, when Hylton-Brown’s mother stood outside the precinct building, asking to speak to officers.

“Please come out and talk,” she spoke into a megaphone. “Tell me something. Tell me what the f**k happened to my son.”

Police did not exit the building despite her pleas.

As night fell, the crowd of dozens thickened. Protesters used a large rock and a bucket to shatter the sheet glass at the front of the headquarters, leaving two large holes. More than two dozen officers fanned out on the front steps of the building and prevented demonstrators from approaching the entrance. For about half an hour, a standoff ensued.

Police have fanned out in front of the 4th District HQ as protesters hold up BLM signs pic.twitter.com/Q97Bt2yZnu

— Daniella Cheslow (@DaniellaCheslow) October 27, 2020

MPD says six officers were injured and one person was arrested and charged with destruction of property/resisting arrest for “riotous behavior inside the Wal-Mart in the 5900 block of Georgia Ave. NW.”

Police say Hylton-Brown was riding a Revel electric moped without a helmet on the sidewalk of Kennedy Street NW just after 10 p.m. Friday. According to the police, officers turned on their emergency lights and tried to make a traffic stop.

“When the moped exited an alley in the 700 block of Kennedy Street, NW, the moped collided with a passenger vehicle that was traveling on Kennedy Street,” the police wrote in a release, adding that officers performed first aid before Hylton-Brown was transferred to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hylton-Brown’s friends and family say this version of the story is incomplete. One friend who was with Hylton-Brown Friday said, “I saw police chasing him everywhere, for no reason. He did no violent offense or nothing.”

Police in D.C. are not allowed to chase vehicles for traffic violations, Police Chief Peter Newsham told The Washington Post.

The friend, who gave his name as Arhki, said he was in a wheelchair with a broken leg and could not keep up to see the crash. However, he said he saw Hylton-Brown try to end the confrontation.

“I saw Karon stop at the intersection of Fifth Street and also ask them, ‘why are y’all still chasing me?'” the friend remembered. “They chased him. They chased him to death.”

Another friend who called himself Marcus G. said the officer involved in the chase had a reputation for harassment. He said the same officer, known in the neighborhood as “Tattoo,” pulled him over a month ago while he was driving on a double date and searched his girlfriend’s bag.

“He was one of the main ones to harass us every day,” said Marcus, 22. “I got pulled over just because we made eye contact and he know my car.”

Maureen Brown, whose six sons were all friends with Hylton-Brown, said in a phone interview that aggressive policing was a constant presence in Hylton-Brown’s life.

“These police officers that targeted Karon are what is known as ‘the jump-outs,’” said Brown, referring to MPD’s tactic of having plainclothes officers jump out of unmarked cars to question or search people. “They drive in unmarked D.C. police vehicles. They antagonize [young Black people] to say something to them so they can get out the car. I’ve seen this. I’ve witnessed it.”

MPD did not respond to questions about a pattern of harassment concerning the officer involved.

Outside the police building Tuesday, protesters gradually began moving away from the front steps and crossed the street. Some hurled rocks at the police, who fired flash-bangs. A squad car parked across the street from the headquarters became a target, as protesters used stones and then a trash can to smash its windows and rip its passenger mirror.

Police dispersed protesters using loud booms and smoke, then formed a line and pushed protesters a block away from the police building. A helicopter flew overhead as four white-shirted police officers and more than 30 other uniformed police blocked protesters from getting closer. Passing cars honked their support for the demonstration.

In a statement on Wednesday, MPD said the crowd outside the Fourth District station engaged “in unlawful behavior such as throwing projectiles, rocks, bricks, and improvised explosive devices at officers and the station. In the process, six MPD vehicles sustained damage and four windows of the station were shattered,”

MPD says the group moved south “where they set fires, smashed storefront windows, and pulled bricks from sidewalks to be used as projectiles. In an effort to stop these individuals, MPD deployed munitions and OC spray.”

Anthony Lorenzo Green, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and an organizer for Black Lives Matter, reported that police pepper-sprayed Hylton-Brown’s mother and father, although DCist/WAMU could not obtain video or photo evidence.

Marcus G., who grew up with Hylton-Brown and spent time with him daily, remembered his friend as “fun, always joking, he was a happy person.”

He said Hylton-Brown was getting his GED and aspired to be a firefighter. The two shared hopes for their careers and their families: Hylton-Brown had a three-month-old daughter; Marcus has a two-year-old son.

“Me and him spoke about making it out of the neighborhood, out of our community,” he said. “He had a plan. He would just take time to execute.”

WAMU/DCist updated this story to use Karon Hylton-Brown’s hyphenated last name at the request of his sister. It has also been updated with statements from MPD.