BOSTON — A day after a Boston police officer was arraigned in court, there are growing calls for the body camera video to be shared with the public.
“I was one of the first ones calling for the body camera because I believe that there has to be transparency in order for there to be trust,” Boston City Councilor Miniard Culpepper said. “The body camera will show exactly what happened.”
Culpepper represents district seven, which is where the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Stephenson King happened on March 11. Police say King was a suspect in a carjacking and was found by officers in Roxbury. Court paperwork shows Officer Nicholas O’Malley shot the suspect three times while he was in a car, backing up.
O’Malley allegedly radioed that King tried to run the officers over, but investigators say the body camera video refutes that claim and shows neither officer was in the path of the car when the shots were fired.
The contradicting report is part of why the councilor is pushing Boston Police to release the video. Culpepper added that he spoke with witnesses of the shooting who were traumatized.
“I want to see what the body cam shows in terms of what I already heard from eyewitnesses,” he said. “They thought it was not justified and that’s what really moved me to continue pressing for that body cam.”
Leaders at the Black Community Information Center in Boston were frustrated with the shooting during a Friday press conference.
“What gave the officer the passage, if you will, to make the determination that he was going to put three bullets into him,” Director Sadiki Kambon said. “The bottom line is that it was an overreaction by Officer O’Malley.”
Kambon believes the shooting may have been racially motivated.
“It’s one thing to be charged, but for another thing, they’re saying manslaughter. He shot and killed a black man, and he’s home with his family.”
Another person at the press conference said he didn’t appreciate what was said to King before the shots were fired.
“He should have not said, ‘bro, I’m going to expletive shoot you,’” Robin Koza said. “He’s a police officer. He’s supposed to treat the situation professionally, and he was not professional at all. I like the officer. I know the officer, and he should have not said that.”
As of now, there is no indication that the video will be released.
O’Malley’s next court date is in May. He pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
