DC Protesters Call For Accountability Following Traffic Fatality

WASHINGTON, DC — Family and friends of Karon Hylton protested outside the Metropolitan Police Department's Fourth District Station Tuesday night, demanding police accountability after the 20-year-old Northwest man was struck by a passenger vehicle Friday night, according to news reports.

Protesters smashed the window of a police car and punched holes in the panes of glass at the front of the station, according to a report in DCist. More than two dozen MPD officers fanned out in front of headquarters, preventing the demonstrators from nearing the entrance.

According to police, officers observed Hylton riding without a helmet as he operated a Revel Electric Moped on the sidewalk around 10:09 p.m., Friday, in the 500 block of Kennedy St., N.W. Activating their emergency lights, the officers tried to make a traffic stop. Exiting an alley in the 700 block of Kennedy St., N.W., the moped crashed into a vehicle traveling on Kennedy Street.

The officers performed first aid until D.C. Fire and EMS transported Hylton to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Four officers were injured and one person was arrested Tuesday night, The Washington Post reported. Friends of Hylton told the Post the police had chased him for no reason.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call 202-the 727-9099 or submit an anonymous tip by text at 50411.