‘Slap In the Face’: Outraged Family of D.C. Cop Gunned Down During Training By Instructor In Prank Gone Wrong Sues After Shooter Sentenced to Three Years, Video Released
The family of a 25-year-old Washington, D.C., Special Police Officer plans to file a civil lawsuit after she was killed by friendly fire during a police training session in 2022.
A retired D.C. lieutenant who shot her was criminally charged and sentenced to three years in prison, but the family believes the city should share responsibility for her loss of life, and his sentence was too lenient.
Maurica Manyan, a mother of one, attended a baton training conducted by former police officer Jesse Porter at the Anacostia Library on Aug. 4, 2022. The 59-year-old, though no longer an active officer, was hired as a private contractor to train the officers.
A new video released by The KLK Law Firm shows that at the end of this meeting, the class poses for a picture to commemorate the day. After the photograph was snapped, Porter stepped away from the group still huddled, turned around, and shot his handgun. The bullet fatally wounded Manyan with a single bullet to the chest.
Porter said it was a prank gone wrong, and he did not mean for the gun to go off.
“He did not have any criminal intent, that it was not his intent to cause any harm to her on that day. He’s acknowledged that what it is that he did was negligent. But it wasn’t criminal. But he also accepted responsibility,” Brian McDaniel, Porter’s attorney, said to Fox 5.
One witness said they heard Porter say, “I thought I had my training gun. Why did I do this? Is she OK?”
Immediately after Manyan was shot, Porter and another person unsuccessfully attempted to perform life-saving measures on her.
Latoya Francis-Williams is representing Manyan’s family and says that the estate decided to file the lawsuit after it was established that Porter shot the woman in his capacity as a contractor or vendor for the city.
Now, she is looking to hold the city accountable for his actions because the video shows he shot her client’s relative while he was on the clock.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called Manyan’s death “a tragic situation” but said she had “nothing more to say” about her death or the lawsuit.
Another attorney working on the case said the incident was unbelievable.
“Watching Officer Maurica fight for her life on the floor of the Anacostia Neighborhood Library with her killer towering over her in her final moments was nothing short of heartbreaking.” Chelsea Lewis said to ABC 7. “The District of Columbia bears a heavy responsibility for allowing such a tragedy to occur in a public library against one of their own public servants.”
She added that the family is calling for an investigation into “the multiple suspected policy violations” observed on the surveillance footage of the shooting. Her team is also asking the city to answer how the former officer was permitted to “enter the library with a loaded gun.”
”Our community deserves better protection and oversight from its governing bodies,” she said.
The family is fighting for justice and believes it was not served in Porter’s criminal trial. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to three years in June. He will get credit for the time he already spent behind bars.
Manyan’s loved ones and attorneys believed the sentencing was “far too lenient” based on her loss of life.
“It is not only a slap in the face, but it seemed as if the court completely disregarded the family’s heartfelt pleas for justice,” Lewis said.