Photo courtesy of Paul Seamus/ Twitter.
In Washington, D.C., police have released video footage of the police shooting Antwan Gilmore at a traffic light, NBC News reports.
Twenty-seven-year-old Gilmore from Capitol Heights, Maryland, had fallen asleep at a traffic light on New York Avenue NE on Aug. 25, when he was shot to death. Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Robert Contee claimed that Gilmore was awake at some point but conceded that he was asleep when the MPD approached him in his vehicle. The police also claim that the man had a gun in his waistband.
One officer, apparently afraid for his life, fired his weapon an alarming 10 times. The officer’s name is being withheld for the time being. Chief Contee wasted no time defending the officer and claimed that it was hard to see what threat the officer saw from a sleeping man.
“It’s very difficult to see through the lens of the officer, the one officer in this case that fired. It’s very difficult to see what that officer is seeing. What did he perceive to be the threat at that point?” said Contee.
The disturbing footage was released on Aug. 26.
Police can be heard on the video saying, “where’s the gun at” and “watch the hands.” Police can also be heard asking, “should we knock?”
The authorities then screamed at the sleeping Gilmore and jolted him awake, causing the car to jolt just seconds before shooting him to death. Gilmore was pronounced dead at the hospital.
His friend Paul Seamus believes that Gilmore was killed because he was Black and said so while tagging the D.C. police on Twitter. People also hit the streets to protest in D.C.
“@DCPoliceDept found my friend and longtime neighbor #AntwanGilmore sleeping in his car, startled him awake, then shot and killed him. This other guy shut down Capitol Hill for a day with a bomb threat and was then gently taken into custody. This is what racism looks like.”
Bowser said that a “thorough investigation to determine if the officers acted lawfully and within their training,” was underway.