Black Agenda Report (13 OCT 2021) Read the full article Grand Jury Refuse to Charge Police in the Murder of Kwamena Ocran
Police killings in Maryland go unpunished as they do in the rest of the country. Kwamena Ocran was just one of of many Black victims in his community.
Kwamena Ocran, 24, was murdered on January 8, 2021 by Gaithersburg, Maryland police.
Kwamena, according to his mother Melody Cooper was “an artist [who] had just begun recording music in a studio” — [he] was visiting his girlfriend on the day he was killed. When he went outside, police approached and chased him, and witnesses saw him shot from behind.”
Kwamena Ocran died at the scene.
- The four plain clothes Gaithersburg police officers were members of the Department’s Street Crimes Unit.
- Four veteran officers decided to surveil & later chase Ocran after receiving a “tip” that he was armed with a handgun.
- The police have not explained why they considered the tip credible and why four undercover police felt compelled to stop Kwamena as he walked back to his apartment.
- No crimes had been reported in the area.
- Minutes after the police approached Ocran, he lay dying on the street.
The four Gaithersburg Police Department officers involved in the shooting death of a Gaithersburg man in January will not be charged.
24-year-old Kwamena Ocran died as a result of gunshot wounds following contact with the following officers:
- Sgt. Willie Delgado, a 17-year veteran of the Department
- Cpl. Larbi Dakkouni, an 8-year veteran of the Department
- Officer James Doyle, a 5-year veteran of the Department
- Officer Kyle Khuen, a 5-year veteran of the Department
