DC Police Video Shows Officer Shooting At Man In Moving Vehicle

WASHINGTON, DC — The Metropolitan Police Department released body camera video showing the moments before and after police shot and killed a man found asleep behind the wheel while sitting at a traffic light in Northeast D.C. early Wednesday morning.

Antwan Gilmore, 27, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was fired at 10 times by an officer in the incident at New York Avenue and Florida Avenue NE. He died later at a hospital.

A video shows an officer with a ballistic shield approach several other officers surrounding the vehicle occupied by Gilmore. The police said Gilmore was initially asleep when they looked in his car. They also noticed a gun in his waistband when they looked in the car.

Police officers came to Gilmore's car a few minutes later with ballistic shields. The footage captured the moment the officers noticed Gilmore was waking up.

In the video, multiple officers shout "don't move." At this point, Gilmore's car moves forward and stops. The car then moves forward again. That is when police say an officer fired 10 shots at the moving car, hitting and killing Gilmore.

"Firing at a moving vehicle is inconsistent with our policies," D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee said at a news conference Thursday morning. "We do have a policy with respect to shooting at or from moving vehicles."

Contee said he does not know why the police officer fired 10 times at Gilmore. The MPD is still in the early stages of its investigation into the shooting.

“It’s very difficult to see through the lens of the officer, the one officer in this case that fired. It’s very difficult to see what that officer is seeing. What did he perceive to be the threat at that point?” Contee said. "We are committed to transparency. We are committed to accountability."

Gilmore’s hand was still in his waistband after his vehicle hit a tree and stopped about a block away from where he was shot at New York Avenue and Florida Avenue, according to Contee.

The gun found in Gilmore's waistband was not registered to him.

At the news conference, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had offered condolences to Gilmore’s family.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office will decide if there should be criminal charges against the police officer who fired the 10 shots, the police chief said.