D.C. protests turn violent overnight with several police injured after firework attack
Protests in the city began after a black man died in a traffic accident while being followed by unmarked police.
District of Columbia police officers were injured Wednesday evening in a second night of demonstrations following the death of black male who crashed on a moped while being followed by an unmarked police car.
Several police were injured when a firework exploded directly in front of them. Rocks and bricks were also thrown at officers, who used spray and flash bangs to move back a crowd that has formed outside a police station, according to news reports.
The protests follow the death of Karon Hylton-Brown a black male who crashed his rented, electric scooter last week when being followed by the unmarked vehicle.
Hylton-Brown, 20, crashed into another car and was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He was pronounced dead Monday.
The death was classified as a traffic fatality. However, D.C. police policies reportedly ban officers from pursuing individuals while in unmarked police cars.
The victim's mother, Karen Brown, says a video of the incident shows police “basically hunting my son down, like a wild animal.”
Brown was seen at the Wednesday night protests demanding to meet with Mayor Muriel Bowser.