Holly MatkinWashington, DC – A 17-year-old suspect behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle was fatally shot by police on Saturday after one officer became trapped inside the suspect vehicle and a second officer was dragged by it.
The incident began at approximately 8:50 a.m. on March 18, when two U.S. Park Police (USPP) officers responded to the area of Baker Street and 34th Street to assist a DC police officer with a report of a stolen car, WRC reported.
The driver was later identified as 17-year-old Dalaneo “Debo” Martin.
DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers said Martin was nodding off or already asleep when they first arrived at the scene, according to The Washington Post.
The vehicle was running at the time.
The MPD officers then ran the plates on the car and discovered it had been reported as stolen, prompting their request for backup at the scene.
Two USPP officers responded to assist MPD.
USPP spokesperson Thomas Twiname said the officers were attempting to detain Martin when the teen suddenly began speeding away, WTOP reported.
Twiname said one of the officers became “trapped in the vehicle [and] was unable to get out of the car,” according to WRC.
The second officer was “dragged by the vehicle as it fled the scene,” he added.
The USPP officer who was trapped inside the car with Martin ultimately fired his weapon during an altercation inside the fleeing vehicle, WTOP reported.
Martin was shot and crashed into an occupied residence located in the 300-block of 36th Street Northeast, according to WRC.
No one inside the house was injured during the collision.
.@DCPoliceDept confirm Dalaneo Martin, 17, of Northwest, DC. is the person shot and killed by U.S. Park Police Saturday during a response to a stolen car in which police claim Martin trapped and dragged officers with the car. @DCNewsNow pic.twitter.com/oldPKfOKXN
— Dave Leval (@daveleval_news) March 19, 2023
Twiname said the officers immediately rendered aid to the suspect, but that he succumbed to his wounds at the scene, WTOP reported.
The two injured USPP officers were transported to the hospital for treatment.
Their injuries were determined to be non-life threatening, WTOP reported.
Investigators said they recovered a firearm from inside the stolen car, according to WRC.
Community activist Nee Nee Taylor said Martin was the father of a five-month-old child, WJLA reported.
“I think everyone involved made mistakes but only one person, their life will be forever changed by the consequences that people made,” Taylor told the news outlet. “It’s just a matter of how we police.”
Martin’s mother began yelling at officers when she arrived at the scene on Saturday, The Washington Post reported.
“You’re supposed to protect us!” she declared. “He was only 17!”
The DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division is handling the ongoing investigation into the fatal officer-involved shooting.
