One year after 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin was shot and killed by U.S. Park Police, his family and their attorneys called on the Department of Justice for answers in the investigation into the D.C. teen’s death.
On the morning of March 18, 2023, Martin was found sleeping in a stolen car in a Northeast D.C. neighborhood when D.C. police and members of the U.S. Park Police arrived on the scene. Body camera video from D.C. police showed the officers formulating a plan to get Martin out of the stolen car.
The video showed a D.C. police officer directing the group not to get into the vehicle. The same video showed a U.S. Park Police officer getting into the back seat of the car, and Martin driving off. At that point, the officer fired his service weapon, hitting Martin multiple times.
Outside the Department of Justice building on the anniversary of Martin’s death, family members and attorneys chanted “Justice for Debo,” using the teenager’s nickname.
His mother Terra Martin took a deep breath before telling reporters that by the time she arrived to the scene of the shooting, a white sheet was draped over her son’s body.
“Six shots to the back. How can you justify that?” she asked.
Attorneys Andrew Clarke, Ben Crump and Billy Murphy were joined by Judge Greg Mathis, who complained about the lack of information on the ongoing civil rights investigation opened by the Department of Justice in April 2023.
“What are you hiding?” Mathis asked.
“This is a tragedy of the police’s own making,” Murphy said, expressing frustration as he referenced the high-profile cases of Freddie Gray, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, we see the same kinds of unnecessary deaths at the hands of the police,” Murphy said.
The attorneys said that until today, they had not heard from the Department of Justice since April, when its investigation into Martin’s death began. But Crump said they have been told that they will get a briefing sometime this week.
Nee Nee Taylor, with the organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, also spoke at the news conference.
Taylor told the group, which included Martin’s nine brothers and sisters and one of his two sons, “We are calling for transformation and accountability of policing in our society so that it no longer serves as an agent of anti-Blackness.”
Taylor added, “We’re going to show you better than we can tell you that we’re going to get justice for Debo,”
Crump was asked what justice would look like for Martin’s family.
“Criminal charges, certainly,” he said, adding that civil action, including seeking compensation, is something the legal team is working on. Crump said the goal of a civil case would be to produce changes that prevent deaths like Martin’s.
“That could be the legacy of Debo. Not just justice for Debo, but justice for us all,” he said.
Attorney Clarke echoed that sentiment, saying policy changes and approaches in policing to avoid escalation are critically needed.
“That’s what justice looks like, because had that officer taken that same care with Debo that same day, none of us would be here,” Clarke said.
In a statement to WTOP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia said the case is “an ongoing investigation.”
WTOP reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
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