A D.C. resident who was shot by a Metropolitan Police Department officer in December 2023 is suing the department and the officer who shot him, Leonardo Bell.
On the night of Dec. 18, 2023, officers say they saw Corey Branch, in the 900 block of F Street NW in the Chinatown area, repeatedly grabbing his waistband. In court records, officers say that when they asked Branch if he was armed, he took off running “while holding the object in his waistband area.” During the chase, the officers say they saw him holding a handgun.
Bell’s body camera footage, which was publicly released a few days after the shooting, shows Branch tripping on the sidewalk as the officer closes in. Bell yells at Branch to “put your hands up” and “put your hands down,” according to the video. Branch scrambles to his feet, and Bell fires a single shot before Branch falls again.
As Branch lay on the sidewalk, Bell cuffs his hands; Branch tells the officers that he’s bleeding.
“Nobody cares, shut your mouth!” an officer yells.
Bell then searches Branch while he protests that he has nothing on him and asks for medical attention. Officers say they recovered a black pistol on the ground near where Branch fell.
Branch was taken to the hospital for treatment before he was booked into jail. According to an MPD press release, Branch was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, assault on a police officer, and possession of a controlled substance, though the officers’ arrest report does not describe the assault or illegal substance, and they are not depicted in Bell’s footage. The charges are still pending in D.C. Superior Court.
Branch, in his lawsuit, provides a slightly different version of events. The complaint claims, for example, that officers arrested him on a “bogus” offense, adding (incorrectly) that it “was thrown out at the first reasonable instance of appearance in court.” The lawsuit does not specify which offense was dismissed, but Branch has pleaded not guilty to four firearm related charges.
Contrary to the police narrative, Branch’s lawsuit says he was searching for his missing sister near Capital One Arena. “He then picked up his ordered fast food and was walking back to his vehicle … when he was encountered by … Bell.”
The lawsuit says that Branch, “for reasons unconnected with that fact” that officers were nearby, “started jogging, apparently away from the direction defendant Bell was at.” The officer then shot him “without reasonable provocation or justification.” The lawsuit claims that Branch did not commit any crime or violate any law, but it does not directly deny that he was carrying a gun, as MPD has alleged.
“The arrest and charge was obviously a pretext,” the lawsuit says.
While he was in jail, “despite various requests,” Branch says he was not provided with adequate medical or mental health care, causing “permanent injury to parts of his body and also mental balance and psyche.” The complaint does not elaborate on the specific damage.
Bell, along with three other officers, were placed on administrative leave after the shooting. Bell and the other officers have since returned to full duty.
The United States Attorney’s Office for D.C. declined to bring criminal charges against Bell. And a spokesperson for MPD says the department’s Internal Affairs Division and Use of Force Review Board determined that Bell’s use of force was justified.
Branch is seeking $10 million in damages. The case was moved to District Court last week. He could not be reached for comment.
“[He] suffered there,” Hope Humana, Branch’s lawyer, says of his time in the DC Jail. “He is still suffering.”
Branch pleaded not guilty to four firearm-related charges, including illegal possession by someone with a prior conviction; his trial date is set for June 2025.
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