Family challenges D.C. Attorney General’s effort to reduce $655,000 civil verdict in Deon Kay shooting
A post-trial fight over damages is delaying payment after a jury found the District liable
The family of Deon Kay, an 18-year-old fatally shot by a Metropolitan Police Department officer in 2020, is challenging the District of Columbia’s continued effort to undo or reduce a $655,000 civil jury award—an effort they say is delaying payment years after Kay’s death.
The dispute is now centered in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge is weighing post-trial motions that could leave the verdict intact, order a new trial, or reduce the amount awarded by the jury. After hearing arguments, the judge did not issue an immediate ruling and indicated a decision would come soon.
What the jury decided in 2025
In July 2025, a D.C. jury awarded $655,000 to Kay’s mother in a wrongful-death case tied to the September 2, 2020, shooting. The lawsuit alleged that the officer’s actions were legally wrongful and that the District bears responsibility for conduct that occurred in the course of the officer’s employment.
The District—represented by the Office of the Attorney General—has sought to set aside the verdict or reduce damages. In court, lawyers for the District argued that the award exceeded typical ranges in similar police-involved civil cases and that the jury’s calculation went beyond what the evidence supports.
The 2020 shooting and parallel investigations
Kay was shot during an encounter in Southeast Washington after officers responded to information about individuals displaying firearms from inside a parked vehicle. As officers arrived, people from the vehicle ran. A responding officer fired one shot, striking Kay in the chest.
Federal prosecutors closed their criminal civil-rights investigation in November 2020 and declined to bring charges. Prosecutors said they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer acted “willfully” in a way that violated the federal criminal civil-rights statute, a high legal standard that requires more than negligence or poor judgment. Prosecutors also described body-worn camera footage showing Kay holding a gun and raising his arm at approximately the same instant the officer fired, with the firearm later found some distance away from where Kay was shot.
How internal reviews framed the encounter
Separate from the criminal decision, subsequent reviews examined MPD tactics and decision-making. A later public audit reported that MPD internal affairs found the shooting justified and within policy, while an internal review board also identified tactical errors and criticized planning and approach decisions that it said unnecessarily increased risk.
The civil case addresses legal liability and damages rather than criminal guilt.
The court’s post-trial ruling will determine whether the District must pay the full $655,000, a reduced amount, or face additional proceedings.
The pending decision will shape when—and how much—the family ultimately receives following the 2025 jury verdict.