Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Video/News Video
News VideoVideo

Breaking: D.C. Police Department Release Cam Footage of #TerrenceSterling Case

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

 

On Sept. 27, Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department released bodycam footage of Fort Washington, Maryland resident Terrence Sterling’s last moments after a fatal police encounter.

Atlanta Black Star reported that police pulled Sterling over at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 11 for riding his motorcycle erratically. In the initial reports, the 31-year-old motorist struck a police vehicle before officers fatally shot at him.

On the day of the police-involved shooting, officers did not turn on their cams until after the incident. FOX 5 D.C. reports that officers involved were required to turn on their body cams before any encounter begins. But the officers on scene failed to do so.

The footage above shows the bloody aftermath. In the video, two officers work frantically to revive Sterling. However, the man’s lifeless body continues to bleed out. One officer goes into the back of the police interceptor to grab a first aid kit. While the other tries to preform CPR.

In the background, a witness yells profanities in utter shock.

 

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top