A retired D.C. police officer indicted in the fatal shooting of a special police officer at a training session inside a public library in the Anacostia neighborhood pled guilty Friday, according to court documents.
Jesse Porter, 58, was indicted on Second Degree Murder charges in May. He pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in court Friday, according to documents from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The victim Maurica Manyan, 25, of Indian Head, Maryland, worked as a special police officer within the D.C. Public Library's public safety division.
She was shot and killed after a training exercise at Anacostia Neighborhood Library in August 2022.
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About five officers wanted a group picture taken at the end of the training, a court affidavit said. Manyan was the subject of some playful jokes about her hair and said she wanted to take off her mask. That’s when Porter pulled out his gun and fired, the document said.
Porter then said he thought he had his training gun, witnesses told police. Several people began CPR. First responders were called to the library at 1800 Good Hope Road SE shortly before 3:45 p.m.
As Porter was led out of the building, he turned to a library officer, the affidavit said.
“I’m sorry. I shot your officer,” he said.
Library patrons were cleared from the building. No one else was hurt.
Manyan was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She had been on the force for less than a year.
Porter retired from the Metropolitan Police Department in 2020 as a lieutenant, an online profile said.
He will not be held in custody until his sentencing on August 25. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
