Several Washington D.C. police officers have sustained injuries as a second night of protests continues in the nation’s capitol over the police-related death of a 20-year-old Black man named Karon Hylton.
The number of officers injured and the extent of their injuries is as yet unclear, according to local news station WUSA-TV. It’s also unclear how many protesters and other citizens may have been injured by police during protests.
The Wednesday night protest began at a candlelight vigil for Hylton at Kennedy and 7th streets, where his fatal collision with a car took place last Friday after police chased him for not wearing a helmet while riding a moped.
D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham told The Washington Post that police aren’t permitted to chase vehicles for traffic violations.
The Wednesday protest crowd grew into a march that went around the neighborhood, with police using pepper spray and flashbang munitions to keep demonstrators away from a nearby police station. Citizens smashed a station window and police vehicle window there the night before, according to The Washington Post.
Protesters lobbed water bottles, insults, screams of “Who do you protect?” and at least one string of fireworks at officers as a police helicopter circled overhead and officers tried to dispel the crowd, according to the Post.
Hylton’s death occurred in the hospital three days after his collision with a car on Friday. Around 10:10 p.m. local time on that day, police tried to pull him over for not wearing a helmet while riding a moped. To evade police, Hylton rode his vehicle on a sidewalk before pulling into an alley and eventually colliding with a car on the adjoining street.
Hylton’s death left behind his three-month-old daughter, his girlfriend and mother of his child, Amaala Jones-Bey and his mother, Karen Hylton.
At the Wednesday night vigil, Karen Hylton demanded that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city officials provide answers about how her son died.
Though the officers involved in his pursuit were wearing body cameras, the footage has not yet been released.
“We are engaged directly with the next of kin about their ability to view the body-worn camera footage. We are coordinating with the Department of Behavioral Health to provide the family with the space and trauma-informed support they need to view the body-worn camera footage,” Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Roger Mitchell said in an emailed statement to NBC.
Evan Lambert, a reporter with FOX 5 DC, said in a Wednesday evening tweet that police will release body camera footage tomorrow.
Newsweek contacted Washington D.C. police for comment.
