Justice For Antwan Gilmore: D.C. Protests Police Officer Fatally Shooting Black Man Who Was Asleep In His Car
Twenty-seven-year-old Antwan Gilmore was asleep in his car on Wednesday when he was approached by Washington D.C. police officers, one of whom proved once again that cops—who are celebrated in “back the blue” circles for their bravery and willingness to put their lives on the line—often open fire at the faintest sign of perceived danger, and it’s actually civilians, particularly Black civilians, whose lives end up on the line and in the line of fire.
An edited “community briefing” video taken from the body camera of an officer, which was released last Thursday, according to NBC 4 Washington, shows the part of the incident, but it doesn’t produce much clarity as to why the shooting started. Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Robert Contee said Gilmore was “awake at some point,” but the ballistic shield being held by the shooter makes it difficult to determine why the currently unidentified officer felt the need to fire.
@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. pic.twitter.com/VnXp8xiQie
— Paul Seamus Ryan (he/him) (@ThePaulSRyan) August 27, 2021
“It’s very difficult to see through the lens of the officer, the one officer in this case that fired,” Contee said, according to NBC. “It’s very difficult to see what that officer is seeing. What did he perceive to be the threat at that point?”
So, as is often the case in use-of-force incidents involving cops and Black people, most of what we have to go on so far hinges on the word of police officers.
The Metropolitan Police Department said in its statement last week that officers arrived at Florida Avenue and New York Avenue NE in response to a call about an unconscious driver in his car blocking traffic. The officers found Gilmore in his car “unresponsive” with his foot on the brake while the car was running. They also said they could see a gun in his waistband.
More officers were called to the scene, and “a ballistic shield was deployed.” Officers said Gilmore “reacted” at some point while they were trying to talk to him and that he began to move the car forward until they ordered him to stop. They said Gilmore did stop, but “then proceeded forward as an MPD member discharged their service weapon multiple times, striking the driver inside the vehicle.”
In the video, one officer can be heard saying, “I can’t see his hands.”
When the car begins to move forward, officers can be heard shouting “Don’t move!” and “Police!” just before the shots were fired—10 shots to be exact, according to Contee.
After the shooting, the gun police said they observed on Gilmore’s person was still in his waistband.
According to Contee, opening fire on a moving vehicle goes against MPD policy.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vowed that district officials will conduct a “thorough investigation to determine if the officers acted lawfully and within their training.”
It’s really hard to imagine a scenario where this is a justified shooting, but, unfortunately, we have a justice system that often bends over backward to give cops the benefit of the doubt. On Twitter, many people, some of whom said they knew Gilmore, have already made it clear they’re not buying any story that calls this a clean shoot.
#AntwanGilmore was our neighbor for 15+ years, and he did not deserve to die at a traffic light. As @ThePaulSRyan said, this what racism looks like. I want to say more because Antwan deserves that, but I really do not know what else to say. #Stunned #Devastated. https://t.co/zxKaDXJ6Ks
— Krysten S. Thomas, MPH (@ksthomasdc) August 27, 2021
Multiple armed officers with a ballistics shield, apparently trained to deescalate and protect “sanctity of life”, fired on a 27-year-old they startled awake at a traffic light. #AntwanGilmore might have needed assistance, but instead got a death sentence.
— Markus Batchelor (@MarkusforDC) August 26, 2021
DC Police is NOT allowed to shoot at moving cars. It’s clearly against dept policy! So why did an officer kill Antwan Gilmore?? He was asleep in his car & NOT a threat! When they woke him up, his car lurched forward… & an officer fired 10 TIMES?! Demand #JusticeForAntwanGilmore! pic.twitter.com/uzn80MyZgd
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 30, 2021
And, of course, protesters took to the streets of D.C. last week to call for justice for Gilmore.
Protest takes to DC streets. Lots of emotion and pain out here as most marchers are family and friends of #AntwanGilmore pic.twitter.com/tETHKEMpu7
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) August 27, 2021
“My cousin was executed & murdered by the Metropolitan Police Dept.”
Justice for #AntwanGilmore DC pic.twitter.com/MiFbnI8UIG
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) August 27, 2021
“There’s an inconsistency in policing communities of color and white communities. And that’s real”
DC Protester explains how white DC man was treated vs #AntwanGilmore pic.twitter.com/EdGr9y9UZz
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) August 27, 2021
“ #Defundthepolice man. We can protect ourselves. They just killed a sleeping man.”
Friend of #AntwanGilmore just after midnight pic.twitter.com/fZoZCeeqVU
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) August 27, 2021
It often appears that no matter how much we protest and call for an end to unnecessary police violence against Black people, there’s always a fresh incident waiting to show us cops are not getting the message. It’s exhausting, but all we can do is continue our fight.
SEE ALSO:
Robert Anderson May Have Been In Mental Distress. Police In Del Norte County Killed Him Anyway
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