D.C. Police on Friday released body-worn camera footage and the name of the officer who fatally shot Kevin Hargraves-Shird in a park in Northwest last Saturday, an incident that has prompted calls for accountability from his friends and family.

But city officials also conceded that the footage — in which Sgt. Reinaldo Otero-Camacho, a 17-year veteran of the police department, is seen firing the single fatal shot — cleared up little as to what happened that afternoon.

“I want to start by saying that no matter the circumstances, any loss of life is tragic. We know that Kevin was well loved and that this is a traumatic loss for his family and friends,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser at a press conference. “Unfortunately, as is often the case or sometimes the case, the body-worn camera footage doesn’t answer all the questions we have or that the community will have. We release this footage so that the community can see what we see. But again, this remains an active investigation.”

The footage shows Otero-Camacho in pursuit of a white sedan last Saturday afternoon, which police say a 911 caller had linked to a shooting only minutes prior at Georgia Avenue and Longfellow Street NW. (Any possible links remain under investigation; two other cars seen at the scene of that shooting remain at large.) The sedan crashed into a curb on the 200 block of Madison Street NW, and footage from a security camera on a nearby residence shows its occupants running into Fort Slocum Park.

At one point Otero-Camacho pulled his gun out of his holster while still in the car pursuing the sedan, after which he quickly jumped out of the car while yelling “gun, gun, gun, gun” and almost immediately fired the shot that killed Hargraves-Shird, 31.

Police initially said that Hargraves-Shird was carrying a gun and had turned towards the officer; they say he was shot in the right ear from roughly 35 yards away. MPD distributed a picture of a gun soon after the shooting; an object near Hargraves-Shird’s body is highlighted in the footage released on Friday, though it is impossible to confirm whether it is a weapon.

D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said he could not weigh in on whether Otero-Camacho had been justified in shooting Hargraves-Shird, largely because the sergeant has not yet been questioned and because he said police officers may perceive threats in the heat of the moment that are not evident on body camera footage released later.

“You cannot see exactly what [Hargraves-Shird] was doing at that point, which is why we’re not able to make a final determination based upon what we saw,” he said. “There are questions about whether it was justified, unjustified. We’re nowhere near being able to make that determination at this point, just based on the information that we have so far.”

As is standard protocol, Otero-Camacho has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

Friends and family of Hargraves-Shird, who held a vigil for him earlier this week and were able to view the body camera footage before it was released to the public, say the shooting was unjustified and unnecessary because Hargraves-Shird was seemingly running away from police. (He was given no command to stop; Contee said it remains unclear whether Otero-Camacho was trying to warn other officers when he yelled “gun” multiple times.) They also question why he was handcuffed after being shot and before first aid was rendered. Police say CPR was performed, and Hargraves-Shird was eventually transported to a hospital.

“You know how hard and devastating it is for us to sit there and get videos of them handcuffing my brother and he’s bleeding profusely from the head?” said an emotional Serena Hargraves, Hargraves-Shird’s older sister, outside Bowser’s press conference on Friday afternoon. “We can’t even mourn correctly because we’re fighting the police, we’re fighting the media. It’s not OK. And they shot him in the back of his head. He was no threat. There was no engagement.”

They also question the police claim that Hargraves-Shird had a gun, and are demanding that body camera footage from other responding officers be made public. Contee said DNA analysis was being conducted on the gun to establish who possessed it, but said that additional footage would not likely be released because police are not legally required to do so. (Under a D.C. law passed in 2020, police have five days to release footage from any officer involved in a serious use of force, unless the victim’s family objects.)

Supporters of Hargraves-Shird said they would continue pushing for answers and accountability in the fatal shooting, starting with a march on Friday afternoon from the Wilson Building to the Reeves Building on U Street. They are also demanding more information into last month’s shooting at The Wharf of Lazarus Wilson by Commander Jason Bagshaw, who is known by some community members for aggressive tactics.

Contee and Bowser said the investigation would continue, and asked that residents and family members remain patient. The U.S. Attorney for D.C. initially reviews the case for any possible civil rights violations or criminal charges, after which it will be passed to the Metropolitan Police Department for internal review and possible discipline and corrective measures for any violations of policies on the use of force.

“My experience is that these investigations they take as long as they take,” Bowser said. “We wouldn’t want to say that they were rushed and we didn’t get the information that we need, nor would we want to say that they took too long and the community was waiting for our response.”

Speaking on WAMU’s The Politics Hour on Friday, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson — who has pushed measures to increase police discipline — said he had not yet viewed the footage. But he did question the need for deadly force. “I just wonder, why do we have to kill people? Isn’t there another way to stop that dangerous situation?” he said.

As for Hargraves, she said she had one goal: “I’m going to vindicate my brother.”

Previously: 

Loved Ones Mourn, Demand Justice For Kevin Hargraves-Shird, Fatally Shot By D.C. Police