Washington, D.C. – Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie (Ward 5) has issued the following statement on the determination by the Metropolitan Police Department Use of Force Review Board that the shooting of Terrance Sterling was not justified:
“The death of Terrance Sterling was a devastating tragedy. My thoughts remain with his family and friends. At the time of Mr. Sterling’s death, I chaired the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department asking them to provide the public with more information on the status of the shooting investigation.
As I have always maintained, transparency and accountability are critical to community-police relations. In fact, we have seen many cases of national significance where a lack of information has led to widespread community outrage about an officer’s use of deadly force.
So while I am heartened to see that the internal review process has come to an end, the length of time it has taken to reach a resolution is troubling. We must continue to ensure that our residents have full confidence in the integrity of our police department.
Today, I am pleased that the Department has taken steps to fully ensure that there is accountability for the officer’s actions in this case and provide Mr. Sterling family with some measure of closure.”
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