Mother of Man Shot by DC Police Wants to See Video

Police say officers didn't have body cameras

The mother of a man shot and wounded by D.C. police wants to see body camera video of the incident, but the Metropolitan Police Department said the officers involved didn’t have cameras.

She'd also like to see her son in the hospital, but she can't because he is under arrest.

Mark George, 23, remains in critical condition after being shot multiple times by officers Oct. 14.

“Why does someone have to take that kind of force to stop a person?” said his mother, Daphne George. “Why shoot like that?”

Undercover officers responded to calls for shots fired on Whaler Place SE just after 11 p.m., police said. George was standing with a crowd of people but ran as police chased him.

Officers say he pulled a loaded gun and they shot him.

“We've made a formal demand for the release of all video footage available from dash cam or body cam for the Oct. 14 shooting,” said Mark George’s attorney, Brian K. McDaniel.

Police have said since the undercover officers weren’t wearing body cameras, there is no footage to release.

“It's irresponsible for six officers on scene of a police shooting, for none of those officers to be wearing a body camera is unconscionable,” McDaniel said.

Police said they are in the early phases of deploying the cameras and many officers still do not have them.

George’s mother doesn’t believe he had a gun.

“I know my child,” she said. “He's a good kid.”

“We've developed independent witnesses who represented at the time Mr. George was shot, he was not armed,” McDaniel said.

He would not let News4 interview a witness and said he’s not sure if George had a gun at some point during the encounter.

"Law enforcement has spoken with at least one witness present on the scene who has verified at the time Mr. George was shot, he was unarmed," McDaniel said.

While she waits for answers about what happened Friday night, George's mother said her pain is made worse because she isn't allowed to visit her son or talk to his doctors.

"As a mother, you would want to be there for your child," Daphne George said. "You would want to visit and hold his hand and kiss him. It's not fair to him or the parents who want to see him."

It would be easier to visit him in prison, she said.

"And that's the hard part," she said. "They're treating him worse than a common criminal."

She said if she could see him, she could hold his hand and give him two messages.

"That I love him and he has to just stay strong," she said.

Police declined a request for an interview Friday.

Daphne George said her son’s shooting is something she says every mother now has to fear.

“I'm still numb,” she said. “This is something no one should have to go through.”

Mark George has been charged with carrying an illegal gun and assault on an officer.

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