Washington, DC — A dozen groups rallied and marched Monday night in memory of Terrence Sterling, 31, an unarmed Black man shot by DC police officer Brian Trainer. About 250 took part in the demonstration at the 200 block of M Street NW, the busy intersection where he was killed.
Just paces behind them was a small memorial of teddy bears tied to a street lamp in Sterling’s memory. Above were signs reading “We have Questions, We Need Answers,” with the hashtag #TerrenceSterling. Motorists blew horns in support of the action.
Officer Trainer fired at Sterling from inside his vehicle while Sterling was riding his motorcycle in the early morning hours on Sept. 11, according an attorney for Sterling’s family.
Hundreds marched Monday night expressing their emotions about the incident and demanding more transparency and accountability from police and District government. After many organizers spoke, protesters shut down nearby New York Avenue until police ordered protesters stop blocking traffic. They reacted angrily to the police warning but after a short time began walking to allow traffic to pass. The demonstration continued with no incident, and no arrests were reported.
Several mothers who had lost children to police and community violence joined in the action along with a number of friends of Terrence Sterling. They included Jerry Formey, a friend childhood friend of Sterling for over twenty years.
Formey spoke fondly and emotionally of Sterling as he told of a friend who was “easy to talk to, nonviolent and very loyal.” He said they watched many football games together, and he would miss sharing good times.
Formey said his friends affectionately nicknamed Sterling “Chicken” because his first job was at a fast food restaurant. “He had a smile that would light up the cold corner when he came through,” said Formey.
Activists expressed frustration with the reluctance of Mayor Bowser to hold police accountable. They also feel the police are too protected from oversight and unwilling to hold themselves accountable. “They want to sweep the murder of Terrence Sterling under the rug,” said Eugene Puryear, organizer with Stop Police Terror Project DC.
Puryear, who has been actively working on DC police accountability for over a decade, called police conduct in DC a national disgrace, undermining the world view of democracy here. He spoke of a United Nations report from last week highly critical of U.S. police conduct in handling cases like Terrence Sterling’s.
“The UN just came out and said that the killings of Black men in America is reminiscent of lynchings,” Puryear said. He admonished the falseness of democratic principles in the present day of policing standards. “More people have died at the hands of police than have been lynched in just the last ten years,” he said.
Carlan Martin, co-founder of Truth Seekers for India Kager, also had harsh words when she chastised Mayor Bowser and the City Council for not holding police responsible. “The elected officials of the city don’t have the balls to take on the Fraternal Order of Police,” said Martin. “We’re going to keep applying pressure to the FOP and stand up for people who can no longer speak for themselves.”
Activists posed key questions for the Mayor and City Council, including why police used deadly force when Sterling was unarmed, why police fired upon him while he was riding his motorcycle, and why he was being pursued when there was already a standing order in the District for police not to pursue any vehicle. They demanded that the Mayor make the police answer questions about the actions of the officers involved leading up to Sterling’s death, and make sure they are prosecuted. They are also demanding the Department of Justice investigate the matter.
Black Lives Matter DC organizer April Goggins railed against police, saying, “His life and the way in which MPD and Mayor Bowser and the DC Police Union have treated its aftermath its dispicable, it’s disgusting.”
Goggins urged those present to become active in organizing for change.
The DC coroner’s office ruled Terrence Sterling’s death a homicide. It was the 764th police killing in the U.S. in 2016, according to a database project undertaken by the Guardian website called “The Counted.”
Since Sterling was killed on September 11, another 54 names have been added. It now stands at 818.
