Death by Cop 2021-2025
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George David Watson
Age : 34
Gender : Male
Race : Black
Date : 08/31/2021
Location : 14th St. NW and V St. NW
City : Washington
County : District of Columbia
State : District of Columbia
Agency : Metropolitan Police Department DC
Officer(s) :Jonathan Nelson
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during disturbance call
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/31/2021, at approximately 6:55 p.m., Metropolitan Police Department Third District officers responded to an apartment building in the 1400 block of V Street NW after a caller reported seeing a man on a balcony holding what appeared to be a long gun. Officers were directed to the apartment of 34-year-old George David Watson and approached his door.
Officers made contact with Watson and spoke with him in the hallway. Watson went back inside his apartment and subsequently came out again, continuing to speak with officers before returning inside. Police remained positioned outside the apartment and attempted to communicate with him rather than immediately entering the residence. Watson emerged from the apartment three times during the encounter.
On the third occasion, Watson came through the doorway carrying what appeared to officers to be a rifle. MPD alleged that Watson pointed the object toward officers. Sergeant Jonathan Nelson, a 12-year MPD veteran assigned to the Third District, opened fire, striking Watson multiple times.
The object Watson was carrying was subsequently determined not to be a firearm. It was a replica/airsoft-style rifle. MPD Chief Robert Contee said shortly after the shooting that the object appeared to be an airsoft rifle or possibly a paintball gun but argued that it looked like an actual firearm when Watson displayed it. The District's later official use-of-force review specifically classified the weapon as a replica.
An MPD officer also suffered a gunshot wound to the hand during the encounter. Contemporary reporting initially left unclear how that officer had been shot, particularly because Watson's weapon was not an actual firearm. The publicly released information establishes that Nelson was the MPD officer who fired the fatal gunfire at Watson.
Officers provided medical assistance to Watson after the shooting. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported him to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Nelson was placed on administrative leave while MPD's Internal Affairs Bureau investigated the shooting. Body-worn-camera footage of the encounter was subsequently released publicly.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Use of Force Review Board later reviewed Nelson's shooting. Internal Affairs recommended that the firearm discharge be classified as justified and within department policy, and the Use of Force Review Board concurred with that determination.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/31/dc-police-shooting-columbia-heights/
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/man-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-northwest-dc/2787964/
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/man-shot-killed-by-police-in-northwest-dc/65-6e7a2c6c-9d8b-4c4a-9b7a-6c9f9f5c5e1a
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/dc-police-officer-suspect-shot-northwest/65-87930cec-cfda-4853-af52-2b1f98696885
