Body Camera Footage Shows Police Pursuit Before Moped Crash That Killed Black Man in DC

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In the moments before a civilian car struck Karon Hylton late Friday night, Washington, D.C. police officers observed that the 20-year-old Black man wasn’t wearing a helmet while riding an electric moped and tried to initiate a traffic stop. The officers then followed Hylton, body-camera footage released Thursday shows. 

Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department aren’t allowed to pursue vehicles over traffic infractions, according to the Washington Post, and the four officers are now under investigation to determine whether they violated any rules when they followed Hylton, who later died at a local hospital. The officers have also been placed on non-contact leave. 

It’s unclear whether there was any other reason for trying to stop Hylton apart from the helmet issue, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said during a press conference Thursday. Hylton’s family has blamed the cops for his death, spurring protests over two consecutive nights this week. During a protest Wednesday night, Hylton’s mother, Karen Hylton, said that she believes her son was “chased” and “hunted.”

Newsham noted during Thursday’s press conference that police didn’t recover any contraband on Hylton’s body. 

One seven-minute body camera video released Thursday appears to show that, once officers activated their patrol car’s flashing lights to try to stop Hylton, they made multiple turns to follow him and eventually wound up in an alley. 

When Hylton exited the alley and went to turn, he was hit hard by a car coming down the road. At no point did he collide with the police vehicle, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday.

Bowser also acknowledged during the press conference that, based on the video, it appeared that police were following Hylton.

“We have very clear policies about no chasing,” Bowser said, adding that such chases can be dangerous. “But the investigation will answer a lot of questions that we just don’t have at this early stage in the investigation.” 

In a shorter, three-minute “community briefing” video that included body-camera footage and was also released by police Thursday, an officer walking toward Hylton’s body can be heard calling out his first name, Karon. It’s unclear whether that officer knew Hylton personally. Officers performed first aid, and Hylton was taken to a local hospital. He died Monday, according to WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate.

The officer driving the vehicle was Terence Sutton, Bowser said, but the other three officers have not yet been publicly identified. 

Bowser called Hylton’s death “tragic,” and said she wanted to release the body-camera footage to “demonstrate all that we know at this time.” She requested that protesters not channel their anger into any further violence or destruction. During protests this week that otherwise began peacefully, a small number of demonstrators threw rocks and bricks, according to WRC-TV.