A Metropolitan Police Department station saw a second night of protest over an alleged police chase that caused the death of a young Black man last week.
Social media posts show the evening started with a candlelight vigil at Brightwood Park for 20-year-old Karon Hylton, and led to a protest outside the 4th Police District station in the 6000 block of Georgia Avenue NW.
Several news outlets reported that protesters broke windows of a squad car and shot fireworks at police who responded with concussion grenades and pepper spray. A low-flying police helicopter was also used to disperse the crowd of about 100 protesters.
On Tuesday night, protesters reportedly smashed a squad car window and department window panes, and threw rocks and bricks at officers. The police deployed smoke bombs and flash bangs.
The MPD report on Hylton’s death states that he was riding a moped without a helmet on a sidewalk Friday, which prompted officers to turn on their emergency lights and attempt to conduct a traffic stop. Hylton reportedly pulled the moped out of an alley, hit a passenger vehicle and later died of his injuries.
Witnesses say police pursued Hylton in violation of a policy that prohibits chase of a motor vehicle for a traffic stop, calling it a “pattern of harassment of young Black men” in the area.
