Lawyers for Civil Rights Sues Boston Police and Suffolk DA for Footage from Fatal Police Shooting
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed a lawsuit against the Boston Police Department (BPD) and the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, demanding the immediate release of body and dash camera footage documenting the fatal police shooting of Stephenson King. Nearly five months after a BPD officer shot and killed Mr. King on a Roxbury street during a mental health crisis, both agencies continue to withhold the footage despite numerous public records requests.
“Few records implicate a greater public interest than footage of a police officer taking a life,” said Victoria Miranda, Senior Attorney, at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “The public has a right to see what happened. Every day that BPD and the DA’s Office refuse to release the footage is another day the community is denied the transparency and accountability the law demands.”
On March 11, 2026, a BPD officer fatally shot Stephenson King in Roxbury. The encounter was captured on police body-worn cameras. On May 20, 2026, BPD Officer Nicholas O’Malley was indicted and arraigned on manslaughter charges for Mr. King’s death — a serious criminal charge that underscores the gravity of the footage.
Despite the indictment, and despite the Massachusetts Public Records Law’s presumption that government records must be disclosed, the public has been denied access to the footage. LCR has formally requested all body-worn camera footage and dash camera footage related to the shooting, but all requests have been denied.
Neither agency has met its burden under the Massachusetts Public Records Law to justify its failure to disclose the footage. The Public Records Law requires BPD and the DA’s Office to promptly provide public records upon request. It was enacted to provide broad public access to government records, so the public can ensure that public servants are carrying out their duties efficiently and in a law-abiding manner. To deny the public access to footage that captures a public servant taking a man’s life is a serious and direct violation of the Public Records Law.
LCR is asking the Suffolk Superior Court to declare that the requested body- and dash-camera footage constitutes public records and must be produced immediately.
The case is Lawyers for Civil Rights, Inc. v. Boston Police Department, et al., No. 2684CV02307 (Suffolk Superior Court, filed Aug. 4, 2026).
A copy of the complaint is available here:
