D.C. Police Update Body-Camera Policy After Fatal Shooting Not Caught on Video

D.C. police will be required to confirm to dispatchers that they have turned on their body cameras when they respond to a call or interact with citizens, a change ordered Wednesday after a fatal police shooting in which a camera was not activated until after the incident, city officials said.

 

Terrence Sterling, 31, of Fort Washington, Md., was shot after police said he crashed his motorcycle into a cruiser early Sunday. Officers in the cruiser were responding to a report of a motorcycle being driven erratically and were trying to make a traffic stop, police said.

 

The officer who shot Sterling turned on his body camera after the shooting, as opposed to having the camera on when the interaction began, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday.

 

After a discussion with Bowser on Wednesday, Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham made the policy change, which is expected to take effect by the end of the week. It will be read at roll calls and included in dispatch newsletters that are emailed to all officers.