TLDR
Boston Officer Nicholas O’Malley is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of alleged carjacking suspect Stephenson King, after Massachusetts investigators said body camera footage and witness accounts undercut his claim that King was driving toward officers.
The manslaughter case against a Boston police officer now turns on a narrow stretch of pavement and what investigators say is a clear body camera view of it. The same moments that O’Malley describes as a life-or-death threat are, according to prosecutors, evidence of an unlawful killing.
According to Fox News, O’Malley, a 33-year-old officer from Randolph, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Roxbury District Court, where dozens of uniformed officers filled the gallery. The judge released him on his own recognizance on the condition that he surrender all firearms.
Disputed Use of Force at Carjacking Scene
The incident began with a reported carjacking on Tremont Street, where a woman told police that a man later identified as King assaulted her, dragged her from the passenger seat of her running vehicle, and drove off. Responding officers soon located the vehicle with King in the driver’s seat, according to charging documents summarized by Boston 25 News.
Investigators wrote that O’Malley and another officer approached the car with their weapons drawn and ordered King to show his hands, shut off the engine, and unlock the doors. King intermittently raised his hands and partially opened a window but did not fully comply. At one point, authorities say, O’Malley warned, “Bro, I’m gonna f***ing shoot you,” before the car reversed into a cruiser and then shifted between reverse and drive in what appeared to be an attempt to get away.
Probable Cause Finding and Legal Standards
As the vehicle moved forward again, investigators say O’Malley re-drew his firearm and fired three rounds through the driver’s side window, hitting King. King drove a short distance before crashing into a stone wall, where officers removed him from the car and attempted lifesaving measures. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
In the charging document, investigators concluded there was probable cause to believe O’Malley committed voluntary manslaughter by intentionally shooting King without acting in lawful self-defense or defense of others. According to Boston 25 News, they cited Massachusetts law that restricts officers from firing at moving vehicles except to prevent imminent harm and requires that any force used be proportionate to the threat.
Conflicting Accounts and Withheld Video
After the shooting, O’Malley told investigators that King “tried to run us over,” asserting that he believed his partner was about to be crushed, according to Fox News’ account of the case file. Investigators, however, said body camera footage and witness statements show that neither officer was in the direct path of the vehicle when shots were fired, and that O’Malley’s stated fear was not objectively reasonable.
An autopsy found that King was struck three times, with two bullets recovered from his torso and another from the passenger seat. Investigators reported that no weapon was found on King or in the car. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden has declined to release the body camera video publicly during the ongoing prosecution, a decision Boston 25 News reported while noting that the Boston Police Department has not commented on the shooting.
APR (LNN): Boston Police
We support Nicholas O’Malley!
On March 19, 2026, Boston Police Officer Nicholas O’Malley was arrested and charged with manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Stephenson King.
He shot a violent carjacker.
O’Malley told… pic.twitter.com/UfYbLnnG5g
— APR (LNN) (@AnonHeel) March 19, 2026
O’Malley’s case now moves into pretrial proceedings, with a court date scheduled in May. The ultimate question for a jury will be whether the split-second decision to fire met the legal standards for police use of deadly force under Massachusetts law, or crossed the line into criminal liability.
