Content Advisory: This story contains a video briefing provided by the Metropolitan Police Department in 2021. The briefing includes body cam footage which captured the interaction officers had with An’Twan Gilmore before a sergeant shot him. Some people may find elements of the video, including audio, disturbing, which is why we recommend viewer discretion.
UPDATE 3/7 8:15 p.m. — Sgt. Enis Jevric entered a plea of not guilty. He was released with conditions.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said a Metropolitan Police Department police officer who shot and killed a man in 2021 faces a charge of Second-degree Murder as well as a charge related to a civil rights violation.
Sgt. Enis Jevric, 41, shot An’Twan Gilmore in Northeast D.C. on Aug. 25, 2021.
Jevric was among officers who went to Florida and New York avenues NE on that date after, police said, they received a call about someone who was unconscious in a car that was in a travel lane. They later identified that person as Gilmore.
Officers said they approached Gilmore, who was in the driver’s seat. The car was running. Gilmore’s foot was on the brake pedal and. Police said they saw a gun in his waistband and that when they tried to interact with him, Gilmore reacted and moved the car forward. Officers ordered him to stop the car, and Gilmore did, but, then, moved it forward, again.
MPD said Jevric opened fire, hitting Gilmore. The 27-year-old from Capitol Heights, Md. died at the hospital.
The indictment against Jevric consists of three counts, and the crimes which he’s accused of committing carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
“We thoroughly investigate every incident where one of our fellow citizens dies during an interaction with law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves Tuesday. “We have found that most officers use force only when necessary. In these investigations, we follow the evidence and the law. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, criminal charges would not be appropriate. But when an officer willfully disregards the safety of a citizen he is sworn to protect, he violates the trust placed in him by virtue of his badge. Today’s indictment reinforces that we will hold officers who commit civil rights violations accountable.”
Devon Jacob, a former police officer, former Pennsylvania deputy attorney general and a national civil rights attorney who was part of the George Floyd litigation team, said it’s a pretty cut-and-dry case of excessive force. He said inherently startling someone you know has a gun can create a deadly situation.
“You need to set up to account for that. You can’t you know, haphazardly approach the situation, create a danger and then basically kill someone because you create a danger,” Jacob said.
Jacob said it didn’t appear any officers were directly in front of the car or in any danger when Gilmore drove off and Jevric first fired four shots. After a pause and Gilmore got further away, Jevric fired six more shots.
“That crosses the line beyond debate that this is an unlawful use of force and you know, death resulted,” Jacob said.
Jacob said holding officers accountable is important.
“We all stand before the law equally well, we have to give meaning to that,” Jacob said. “And by doing this by by bringing the charge and letting a jury of the peers decide the case, we’re rebuilding trust.”
The Metropolitan Police Department provided the following statement to DC News Now:
Since the death of Mr. Gilmore, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has
Metropolitan Police Department
supported the independent and thorough review process conducted by the United States
Attorney’s Office (USAO). Today, they announced a decision to indict the involved MPD
member, Sergeant Enis Jevric. In the indictment, the officer has been charged with a
federal civil rights violation and second-degree murder. We are confident that the
subsequent criminal proceedings will be deliberated fairly, and do recognize this is a
difficult matter for everyone involved.
