Overview
- Officer Nicholas O’Malley, 33, was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter in the March 11 shooting of Stephenson King, 39, during a response to a reported carjacking.
- In Roxbury Municipal Court, O’Malley entered a not guilty plea and was released on personal recognizance with a requirement to surrender firearms, with a return to court set for May.
- Charging documents say body-worn camera video and witness accounts indicate neither officer stood in the vehicle’s path when O’Malley fired three shots through the driver’s window.
- District Attorney Kevin Hayden said the bodycam footage will not be released publicly to protect the prosecution, drawing calls for transparency from community leaders and some city officials.
- An autopsy found King was struck by three projectiles and no weapon was recovered; prosecutors cite Massachusetts and BPD rules limiting gunfire at moving vehicles, while the police union and dozens of officers rallied to support O’Malley and the POST Commission suspended his certification pending the case.