avatarElla Fassler

Summarize

Mayor Bowser and MPD Tout Transparency — Yet Marqueese Alston’s Mother Still Doesn’t Know How or Why Police Killed Her Son.

In the first half of 2018, advocates filed 112 FOIA requests for body cam footage. None were granted.

The atmosphere was commemorative, yet solemn outside of Culture House DC (formerly Blind Whino) on June 12, 2019, one year after the Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed 22-year-old Marqueese “Queese” Alston. Candles lit readily on the windless evening in Southwest DC, while about 60 friends and family members wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts formed a circle in remembrance of the man taken so young. Occasionally, white people walked through or around the gathering on their way to view an exhibit inside the Culture House, Shelter for the Next Cold War.

Kenithia Alston, Marqueese’s mother, radiated strength, hope, and love in a gorgeous red and gold skirt with a bright red BLM t-shirt. She thanked everyone for coming, read an original psalm written for Marqueese, and demanded that MPD release the body camera footage of his death.

Marqueese’s brother, Anthony Alston, reminisced. He was supposed to see his brother that evening. Like nearly anyone else who has had something terrible happen to a person they love, he partially blamed himself. What if he had been with Marqueese that day? Later, in a warm moment, Jeffrey Price’s Uncle (Price is another young black man killed by MPD) consoled Anthony. Police officers, not Anthony, pulled the trigger.

Kenithia Alston at her son’s vigil on June 12, 2019

A Tragic Summer

Within a 6-week span last summer, MPD killed Marqueese, Jeffrey, and D’Quan Young. In each case, witness’ reports of events differ from the police’s.

D’Quan Young was shot by an off-duty police officer who reportedly “rode past several times” then walked up, his “black baseball cap on backwards” like he was “coming to do something,” according to witnesses interviewed by Fox 5. The officer then reportedly shot at Young as he walked away, and continued shooting long after the 24-year old was on the ground. Young never fired his gun, bystanders said. Several days after the shooting, MPD Chief Peter Newsham reported a contradictory narrative: the officer was the victim and Young “confronted” him.

Jeffrey Price was killed in a collision with an MPD cruiser. Witnesses told Price’s family that the police intentionally blocked Price during a chase. Such pursuits are a violation of MPD’s policy (on paper). But police said there was no evidence of a chase.

The circumstances of Marqueese Alston’s killing are similarly unclear. At least one witness said Marqueese did not shoot at officers. Marqueese’s body laid on the pavement, while the police’s photo shows a gun in the grass that he allegedly used. Chief Newsham said there is “overwhelming evidence” that Marqueese shot at the police and emphasized his criminal history, seemingly in an attempt to paint Marqueese as a perpetrator.

Kenithia told 730DC that Marqueese did “stray off the path,” but that he was determined to make good choices following his sentencing under the Youth Rehabilitation Act. He was hard-working, sometimes having two jobs while he completed his GED program, she said.

“Marqueese was a devoted, loving father to his three year old daughter Lyric. He would take Lyric with him to complete job applications and to his community supervision appointments,” Kenithia added. He was also religious. “Marqueese’s love for the Lord was sincere,” she said. He would tell her, “‘One thing I never ever can forget is the Lord and that’s mainly because of you. Ma I promise to be the best father I can.’”

“I miss Marqueese tremendously and I wish this nightmare would go away.”

Body Cameras: For Police or the Public?

As warm weather sets in again a year later, MPD still has not released video footage for any of its 2018 killings. The videos could help clarify discrepancies in each sides’ version of events and provide some closure for the families. MPD similarly refuses to release the involved officers’ names, citing ongoing investigations with the U.S. Attorney’s office as the reason for its lack of transparency.

Natacia Knapper with Stop Police Terror Project DC, an organization committed to changing the system of racist militarized policing in the DMV area, told 730DC, “I think it’s really shameful, and honestly devastating, that the local law enforcement in this city has been able to get away with not only brutalizing and terrorizing our most vulnerable community members but also killing them — and with absolutely no accountability.”

Body cameras were originally sold to the public as tools that would increase police accountability and transparency in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. D.C. Council, the police union, former Police Chief Lanier, and Mayor Bowser all agreed that officers should be equipped with cameras; however, they disagreed over how publicly accessible the videos should. In 2015, Mayor Bowser tried to pass legislation that would severely limit public access to footage, while the Council pushed for transparency.

On paper, the resultant public viewing process looked like a compromise. Individuals have the right to view any footage taken of them (with some restrictions), and the public can request footage via a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA).

But, at the end of the day, MPD is in possession of the footage and, therefore, in control of its release. Of the 25 officer-involved shootings from 2016 to 2018, reported by the Office of Police Complaints (a government-funded review body), MPD has released just three videos to its BWC Youtube Channel. Of the 112 FOIA requests for BWC footage between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018, 0 requests were granted in full and 28 were granted in part. (46 of the requests are still open as of June 2018 and may still be granted.)

MPD can selectively release any footage they choose, and officers can turn the cameras on or off at their discretion. Footage can be used to surveil and learn about activist communities.

As the warm weather sets in again a year later, MPD has not released video footage of any 2018 police killings.

Despite these discouraging statistics, Bowser has promoted herself and her administration as open and transparent. “We’ve built a more transparent government that includes the voices of District residents,” Bowser claimed in her 2019 “DC Proud” campaign. She has argued that the body worn camera investment was for the public’s benefit: “Our police department has always valued a strong relationship with the residents and visitors it serves. We invested in one of the most comprehensive deployments of body-worn cameras in the nation to ensure even greater transparency and accountability,” she said in 2017. From 2016–2018, she published three years of government “accountability reports.” In the reports, body worn cameras are listed as a way of “increasing community’s trust and confidence.”

Mayor Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham; retrieved from Twitter

“I am a grieving mother who is seeking understanding on how and why my son was killed by MPD.”

But Kenithia Alston, and others grieving the loss of a loved one at the hands of police, might disagree that the municipal government values openness. “Denying me the opportunity to view this breeds suspicion and mistrust of the city,” Alston said. “I am a grieving mother who is seeking understanding on how and why my son was killed by MPD.”

Alston is calling for community support in demanding D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Mayor Bowser release the body camera footage, officer’s name(s), and any supporting details regarding the death of Marqueese Alston. Bowser has the power to order the release of footage at no cost to the public.

Family and friends release balloons after Marqueese’s vigil on 6/12/2019

“Getting access to this footage isn’t a fix-all but it’s a critical step in addressing the harm being inflicted to Black and Brown people throughout our communities,” Knapper said.

BlackLivesMatter
Washington DC
Police
Transparency
Racism
Recommended from ReadMedium