A Boston police officer charged with manslaughter after he shot and killed a Dorchester man suspected in an apparent carjacking in Roxbury last week was released on personal recognizance after his arraignment Thursday.
The officer, Nicholas O’Malley, 33, of West Roxbury, pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge in Roxbury Municipal Court. He left court with his family and is on paid leave, said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.
O’Malley fatally shot Stephenson King, 39, of Dorchester, on March 11 after King allegedly tried to flee during a alleged carjacking pursuit in Roxbury shortly before 10 p.m. O’Malley’s attorney, Kenneth H. Anderson, told the court that O’Malley feared for another officer’s life and fired three shots at King during the encounter.
But Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum told the court that body camera footage and the testimony of an eyewitness showed that “Mr. King was trying to drive away” when O’Malley fired the shots.
“Neither officer was in the path of the car or being in danger of being struck by it at the time,” Polumbaum said.
Polumbaum asked Judge Steven Kim to set bail at $25,000, while Anderson asked that O’Malley be released on personal recognizance.
As a condition of his release, O’Malley will have to surrender any firearms, according to court records.
Prior to the encounter, King allegedly stole a woman’s car after assaulting her and ordering her out of the car, according to a criminal complaint. He was unarmed and “did show the officers his hands at times” but did not shut off the vehicle or unlock the doors, according to the complaint.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden (right) and Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum spoke to reporters after the arraignment in Roxbury Trial Court on March 19, 2026. Truman Dickerson photo.
Speaking to reporters after the arraignment, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said his office will not release body camera footage of the incident to the public. He also said his office will show evidence to a grand jury and pursue the manslaughter charge in Suffolk Superior Court, although that has not happened yet.
Some 50 BPD officers were present in the courtroom during the arraignment. Calderone, of the patrolmen’s association, said a Boston police officer has not been arrested and charged in connection with an officer involved shooting in at least 30 years.
“I’ve been involved in probably 100 or more police shootings. This is the first one anyone’s ever been arrested,” said Anderson, O’Malley’s attorney.
Anderson and Calderone took exception to the nature of O’Malley’s arrest at his home this morning, claiming that he would have willingly brought himself to a police station or court to face charges.
“This is election year tactics,” Anderson added, appearing to reference this year’s district attorney election.
Hayden disputed that charge, saying the evidence was clear that King was not driving towards O’Malley or the other officer on scene when O’Malley fired the shots.
“This has nothing to do with public opinion, has nothing to do with politics,” Hayden said. “This has to do with us following the facts and the applicable law.”
City Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell, in a joint statement issued Thursday, thanked Hayden’s office for “their swift action” in filing charges against O’Malley.
“As elected city officials, it is our responsibility to build bridges between our community and law enforcement, and transparency is the foundation on which that trust is built,” the councillors wrote.
Calderone was visibly angry at times as he spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. He said Polumbaum and “whomever else is involved in this investigation” are “jumping to conclusions” and scapegoating O’Malley.
O’Malley “was in fear of his partner’s life,” Calderone said. “Just because the camera shows an officer on the other side of the car, with the totality of the circumstances that were taking place, does not mean that the other officer had him in his vision.”