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City councilors call on Boston police to release footage of fatal shooting
Stephenson King was wanted in connection with an alleged carjacking when he was shot by police in Roxbury last week, officials said.
Two Boston city councilors are calling for police to release body camera footage of a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred in Roxbury last week.
Boston police shot Stephenson King, 39, of Dorchester on March 11. King was identified as the victim by Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office earlier this week.
Officers responded to a report of a carjacking near 1500 Tremont St., and later found the vehicle they were looking for near 10 Linwood Square just before 10 p.m. last Wednesday, according to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox.
As officers approached the vehicle on foot, King did not obey commands from the police. He accelerated the vehicle in an attempt to flee and struck a BPD cruiser, Cox said. Officers fired their weapons, striking King. He was brought to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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It is unclear how many officers fired their weapons. Hayden’s office is conducting an ongoing investigation.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the man who lost his life. We are deeply saddened by this incident. Anytime we see a young man die in our community, it is a cause for serious concern,” councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell said in a joint statement Monday.
The shooting occurred in Culpepper’s district. The councilors called for more transparency.
“We are closely monitoring the situation as more information becomes available. It is important that we fully understand what happened and ensure that appropriate measures are being taken. We also want to make sure that Boston Police officers are able to do their jobs safely while maintaining the trust and safety of the community they serve,” they said.
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BPD officers do wear body cameras, and Cox has said that footage of this shooting does exist.
“We are calling for the body camera footage to be released, as it is critical for transparency and accountability,” Culpepper and Worrell added. “We are also hopeful that the Office of Police Accountability will work alongside this investigation to help ensure public trust as the facts come to light.”
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