As the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia conducts a civil rights investigation into the police-involved shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin, the teen’s family continues to ask a bevy of questions about the shooting, including how federal agents got involved in a call about a stolen vehicle on the morning of March 18.
Dalaneo’s death, and that of Alaunte Scott months prior, happened during encounters with federal law enforcement agencies. Amid ongoing efforts to counter congressional interference in District political affairs, those circumstances have sparked further inquiry into what some described as the overwhelming presence of law enforcement agencies in the District.
Even after seeing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and U.S. Park Police body-camera footage, Dalaneo’s family remains unclear about what triggered the dispatching of the U.S. Park Police to the River Terrace community in Northeast.
“What we heard listening to the video was that one [MPD] officer said the park police called for them, but another officer said they were flagged down by MPD. We have no idea which version is true,” said Jade Mathis, the attorney with A. Clark Law Group who’s representing Dalaneo’s family.
Mathis and Dalaneo’s family saw 11-minute snippets of body-camera footage from both agencies on Tuesday afternoon at the Department of Behavioral Health. Much to their surprise, news outlets obtained recordings of the entire encounter, estimated to be 30 minutes.
Though the longer footage answered questions about what happened after a U.S. Park Police officer shot and killed Dalaneo, other pressing elements of the case remain unknown, Mathis told The Informer. “The identity of the officers has not been revealed, Mathis said.
“In the 30-minute footage, they’re joking about…their horrible strategizing of the ambush that goes wrong. We had none of that before [we saw the whole footage on the news],” she added, pointing out that a 20-year MPD veteran instructed officers not to get into the car and to let Dalaneo go if he drove off.
U.S. Park Police and Delaneo
The District has dozens of law enforcement agencies. In addition to MPD, residents and visitors in certain parts of D.C. can expect to see the U.S. Park Police, Metro Transit Police, U.S. Capitol Police, Secret Service Uniformed Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and CIA Security Protective Service, among several others.
The U.S. Park Police has jurisdiction over all federal parks in D.C., New York City and San Francisco with the ability to investigate and detain those suspected of committing offenses against the U.S. government.
In a statement the U.S. Park Police Fraternal Order of Police Labor Committee released about Dalaneo’s shooting death, they said both officers on the scene followed policies and laws. They went on to cite what they described as “felonious acts” and Dalaneo’s alleged resistance and failure to comply with officers’ commands.
While Mathis said the family will let the investigation proceed, she hinted at the consideration of a civil suit to cover funeral expenses, lost wages and emotional damage. After Dalaneo’s death, family, friends and other adults who’ve known Dalaneo have coalesced around efforts to highlight his role as a father and his ongoing endeavor, before his death, to better his life and that of his family’s through vocational training.
“Dalaneo was a father and son,” Mathis said. “He was helping his mother. His son is seven months old. His opportunity to be a father is gone. There should be some penalty and compensation for that. We’re also still raising funds for the funeral. That would have to get paid back.”
U.S. Marshals Service and Scott
Meanwhile, Scott’s family continues to press for the release of body-cam footage from Feb. 26, when officers from the U.S. Marshals Service shot and killed Scott on the 4300 block of 3rd Street in Southeast.
In the days following Scott’s death, Robert Dixon, who serves as the U.S. marshal for D.C. Superior Court said that Scott had outstanding warrants in D.C. and the surrounding metropolitan area, which compelled the U.S. Marshals Service to action.
However, members of Black Lives Matter DC continue to challenge that narrative, pointing to one open case in D.C. related to Scott’s alleged tampering of his ankle monitor. They said that, moments before Scott’s death, he was speaking with his probation officer and making his way to court.
Months before his death, Scott graduated from the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s Pathways program. Soon after, he lost housing support he had acquired through his participation in the program. Affiliates of Black Lives Matter DC tell The Informer, however, that Scott didn’t revert to criminal activity while facing housing insecurity.
Calling on the Community and Leaders to Hold Officers Accountable
On Saturday, April 8, Black Lives Matter DC is scheduled to conduct a caravan protest at the Giant parking lot on Alabama Avenue in Southeast. Earlier this week, they called on President Joe Biden (D), D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), and MPD Chief Robert J. Contee III to facilitate the release of the body-camera footage and revealing of the officers involved.
Other demands include the release of reports related to Scott’s death, including the names, ranks, and badge numbers of the officers involved. Another issue of significance for Black Lives Matter DC is the assurance that those who are killed by law enforcement are eligible for assistance in the Crime Victims Compensation Program, which helps families pay for funeral arrangements.
April Goggans, core organizer of Black Lives Matter DC, said the government’s failure to follow through on these demands speaks to an attempt to criminalize Scott and turn attention away from a pattern of irresponsible policing.
“The family feels like this is being covered up and they’re feeling helpless to fight it at this stage,” Goggans said.
“I believe Alaunte’s probation officer called and spoke to him about 30 minutes before he was killed. Alaunte told the probation officer he was on his way to his office. Wouldn’t the probation officer have known the U.S. Marshals were there waiting to serve him a warrant,” she added.
“Alaunte’s family is surprised by how community members and officials are so quick to say a gun was ‘produced’ implying that he deserved to be killed and there is no need for scrutiny from the community, most media and other officials about how or when. This is literally the same story in every case.”