Jason Bagshaw was reported to be the officer who killed a man brandishing a gun at the Wharf. Here he is seen in 2020 with a group of Proud Boys.

/ Courtesy of Aeleen Henderson-Fiestas

On Saturday evening, two off-duty police officers were dining at the Wharf, when they saw a someone outside brandishing a gun during a confrontation on the busy waterfront, according to police. The officers told the person to drop the weapon but he did not do it.

“We know that one of our officers fired at least one time, striking the suspect in this case, fatally injuring him,” said D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee during a press conference on Monday.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice has identified the shooting officer as Commander Jason Bagshaw, a controversial figure known to many local activists for aggressive policing tactics. Metro Police declined to comment when asked about this Bagshaw’s past, however at a press conference, Contee described the officer who fired the shots as a “fairly newly promoted commander,” who has been on the force for “more than 15 years.”

Police identified the man who was killed as 23 year-old Lazarus Wilson, of Dumfries. According to a police report, Wilson and another man were at the Wharf to purchase “items of merchandise through a private party sale” from two other people, who pulled guns on them and demanded cash. The two people took the cash and began to flee, before being confronted and shot by the off-duty officers.

Police recovered $31,000 in stolen cash according to the police report.

Contee praised the officers’ actions, though he said the investigation was still ongoing.

“With the influx of guns in communities all across the country, the fact that we have police officers out enjoying a night to themselves at dinner, but yet forsaking the fact that they were there for themselves, decided to take action in the situation that could have been very dangerous and deadly for other visitors to that area. I think it says a lot about their character,” Contee said.

But some people who witnessed Bagshaw’s interactions with protesters over the past two years, since the police killing of George Floyd, say he is known for using more force than necessary.

“We all know his name,” said Aeleen Henderson-Fiestas, a street photographer who documented many of the protests for racial justice in 2020, alongside local activist groups. “He’s not he’s not somebody that I would trust with a firearm.”

“I’d see him target a lot of my friends and comrades when we were outside protesting, exercising our First Amendment rights,” Henderson-Fiestas said.

Chuck Modiano, an independent journalist who has covered hundreds of protests in D.C. over the past few years, filmed numerous videos of Bagshaw roughly interacting with protesters. Several of his videos resurfaced on social media, following the news of Bagshaw’s alleged shooting of the man at the Wharf.

“Lieutenant Bagshaw had a reputation, a well-earned reputation, for being as aggressive as you could possibly be,” Modiano said. “While we don’t know the details of this case and they’re emerging, the D.C. community has zero benefit of the doubt for someone like Lieutenant Bagshaw because his default mode is aggression.”

In fact, some activists have been calling for Bagshaw to be fired since 2020. In one video, shared by Black Lives Matter DC in December, 2020, a man who appears to be Bagshaw, wearing characteristic sunglasses on his head although it is dark out, can be seen lifting someone up and carrying them through the crowd, then appearing toss them on the asphalt. Someone in the crowd shouts, “Fuck you Bagshaw!”

Black Lives Matter DC shared the video on Twitter, saying, “FIRE LT. JASON BAGSHAW NOW!!!”

Activists have also called out Bagshaw for appearing to treat Proud Boys and other violent supporters of President Trump very differently than racial justice protesters.

Henderson-Fiestas said she saw and photographed Bagshaw with a group of Proud Boys on Dec. 12, 2020.

“When the Proud Boys came, there wasn’t any riot gear worn. He walked right alongside them as if they were the best of pals. It was really strange to see a police officer basically escorting and walking right next to such a violent group,” Henderson-Fiestas said.

As Bagshaw was off duty, he was not wearing a body-worn camera, police say. However, officers who responded after the shooting were wearing cameras and police are reviewing the footage. Contee said the footage will be released to the mayor within five days, as required by D.C. law, and released to the public if officials deem that it is in the public interest to do so.

The abolitionist group Harriet’s Wildest Dreams shared a video on Instagram that appears to show the aftermath of the shooting. The group called for “full transparency” and the release of unedited video footage of the shooting. “Accountability is vital concerning this Police killing,” the group wrote in the post.

Dee Dwyer contributed reporting to this story.

This story was updated to add new information from a police report. It was later updated to add reaction from MPD on the characterization of Bradshaw, and drops attribution to The Washington Post of his identity. 

Filed Under: metropolitan police department, police, police shooting,