U.S. Attorney’s Office Concludes Investigation Into Fatal Shooting

            WASHINGTON - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges against Metropolitan Police Department Officer Epshane Porter for a shooting that occurred on November 17, 2025, and fatally injured a 25-year-old District resident (D.C.) at the side of 1221 47^th Place, N.E., Washington, D.C.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the MPD Internal Affairs Division conducted a comprehensive review of the incident, which included a review of law enforcement accounts, crime-camera footage, BWC footage, physical evidence, recorded radio communications, forensic reports, and reports from MPD.

            According to the evidence, Porter was patrolling the neighborhood with another officer. The officers observed a group of men standing outside of 4725 Minnesota Avenue, N.E.  When the group observed the police, D.C. and another male began to run away in separate directions.  Officer Porter chased after D.C.  Porter gave commands during the chase for D.C. to display his hands to the officer. The foot chase ended when D.C. entered a small, fenced area alongside 1221 47^th Place, N.E.  Porter gave several additional commands for D.C. to stop reaching for his hip area.  In addition to ignoring the commands, D.C. and Porter had a brief physical encounter.  Porter discharged his weapon at this point.  The police recovered a .45 caliber Glock from D.C.’s pocket. Despite life-saving measures, D.C. would ultimately succumb to his wounds and be declared dead. 

            After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully violated the civilian’s rights.

Investigations generally

           The U.S. Attorney’s Office reviews all police-involved fatalities to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to conclude that any officers violated either federal criminal civil rights laws or District of Columbia law. 

           The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in the District of Columbia.