Retired officer indicted for second-degree murder in Anacostia library shooting

WASHINGTON — Jesse Porter, the retired Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant who's accused of shooting and killing a special police officer during a training session at the Anacostia Library in August, has been indicted.

Court documents indicate Porter has been indicted for second degree murder and firearm charges in the shooting death of Special Police Officer Maurica Manyan.

On Aug. 4, 2022, Porter was leading a baton and handcuff technique training at the Anacostia Library that Manyan was attending. The group had been handling training guns during the day and Porter and others were packing up and putting away props just prior to the incident, according to the police report.

Court documents say that Porter told responding officers that "he and the trainees were taking a picture and joking around when he removed his firearm from his holster and then heard it discharge" and that he repeated multiple times "I thought I had my training gun."

ASP Batons are expandable batons commonly used by law enforcement. It is not clear why a live weapon was in the room during baton training. 

Police say the firearm used was recovered on the scene.

Manyan was a Special Police Officer for D.C. Public Libraries. According to D.C. Police, Special Police officers are commissioned to protect a specific property. The officers can carry a weapon and make arrests at that location. SPOs must also be licensed and undergo training.

According to a family member, Manyan leaves behind a 4-year-old boy.

"We haven't got no justice yet," Radcliffe and Sherene Manyan told WUSA9 last year.

The judge scheduled a status hearing for next Thursday.