Cops Bust Balls in Adams Morgan
Early Friday morning, reader and Adams Morgan resident Ted Stein witnessed what he alleges to be a case of police brutality and a subsequent cover-up. This is his account:
Last night, I was working at my computer into the small hours of the morning when I heard a violent scuffle just outside. I looked out the window and saw what looked like two drunk men (I live in Adams Morgan, and assumed they were drunk) violently dragging a black man down the street.
Concerned about seeing a black man being dragged down the street in front of my house, I ran downstairs and caught up with them on the corner of Columbia and Belmont. The black man being held was yelling that he did not take anyone's purse, and a woman was demanding that he tell her where her wallet was.
The man being dragged was then thrown violently onto the pavement by the larger of the two men doing the dragging. From the pavement, he yelled that he wasn't resisting (he wasn't), and then the large man methodically spread out the man's legs. The large man took a step backwards, got a running start and kicked the accused man in the testicles with his combat boots.
I called 911 on my cell phone.
I reported the assault and described the assailant: a large man in jeans, boots, and a red shirt. I spoke loudly in hopes that the assailant, if he became aware that I was calling the police, would stop kicking the man. Maybe it worked; the kicking stopped.
A uniformed officer (Flynn, badge # 4362) arrived and arrested the purse-snatching suspect. I and three other witnesses told officer Flynn that the man in the red shirt (we pointed him out) had just violently assaulted the alleged purse snatcher. The three other witnesses said that when the man had reared back to deliver the kick, his shirt had flapped up, revealing a gun.
Then the woman whose purse had been snatched said that the man in the red shirt was a police officer.
Officer Flynn spoke with the man in the red shirt but did not make any moves to detain him. He started walking away. At this sight, the three other witnesses and I informed Officer Flynn that a man with a gun---a man who had just dragged someone down the street, thrown him to the ground, and kicked him---was escaping.
The man with the red shirt walked away. Through a crowd of police officers. I ran to my house and grabbed a housemate of mine and some of his co-workers, all attorneys; we returned to the scene.
The police said (1) they had no idea if the man in the red shirt was an officer; (2) the man in the red shirt escaped, but they had tried to chase him down; and (3) if the man in the red shirt did kick this guy, it was a purse snatcher and the guy deserved it. After telling us this story, they grabbed a man with a red hat off the street and said that they thought we'd said red hat, not red shirt.
Despite our concern that a violent man with a gun was running loose in Adams Morgan, the police began drifting away.
I asked for a police report number. At first, I was told I was not entitled to one. The three attorneys said that I was. The police then told me that I would have to wait for the detective to arrive. I waited.
They continued leaving. I asked for a report number again and again was told to wait. They all left, and never gave me a number.
Standing on the corner waiting for a non-existent detective and police report, I realized that what I'd witnessed was a cover up. A black man was violently assaulted by a police officer while lying flat on the ground. The police lied to me and never gave me a report number.
I want to believe the police filed a report and plan to conduct an investigation. I am sharing this story with the public in hopes of encouraging them to do the right thing.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You can follow any responses to this entry through its comments RSS feed.
1:18 pm
Let the good times roll!
1:25 pm
this isn't news. the police in this city are a corrupt as their asses are fat. Go to Mount Pleasant and check out the 7-11. There must be a 24 hour crack dealing ring in there because there are usually about 10 cops inside at any time.
Why do you think being a cop is always my fall back job?
3:28 pm
I had an odd adventure in a supermarket last weekend. I was accosted by a man while shopping.
“You are so [he swore disgustingly] beautiful I could [he swore again] you here and now, if you get my meaning. Come to my place,” he demanded.
Admittedly, he looked quite perky and energetic for 4am.
“Not a chance, you vile vulgar personage, “I replied, “Please leave before I called the cops.”
“Before you called the what?” he grinned, “That won’t be necessary, babe because I a m a cop. What seems to be the trouble?” he said with an unpleasant laughter.
I was in no humor in this. “Well then, I’ll tell my boyfriend and he’ll hurt you hideously,” I said desperately.
“Oh? And who is our boyfriend?” he smirked.
“He’s special interrogator with the secret forces, if you get my meaning“ I said in sinister tone.
He didn’t laugh this time. Furthermore, his initial impudence was gone in an instant. “Please forgive me. My mistake,” mumbled this absurd intruder before vanishing into the night.
He left so fast I couldn’t tell which direction he’d gone. Not that I cared.
5:20 pm
"You are so [he swore disgustingly] beautiful I could [he swore again] you here and now, if you get my meaning."
No, your sentence was blurred with metaphor and innuendo; what exactly IS your meaning? Idiot.
Do you really think he was a cop, or was he just posturing? Was there anyone else in the store who could have helped you if he hadn't backed off?
Also, did you actually call him a "vile, vulgar personage"? I'm wondering a bit about the validity of your story...but whatever. Point is:
I don't feel particularly served and protected by the cops. They're all over Mt P, as Nathan mentioned, but they never really do anything. Sometimes they leer at me, though. That's really special. Not as egregious as as being kicked in the balls, but it just goes to show you what fantastic people we have as our city's finest.
6:56 pm
Cops are wicked, wicked creatures.
"interrogator with the secret forces" ...
Peggy, where did you hear these words?
7:12 pm
I wish I knew. They just came to me. I must have read them in a paper.
I had to rid myself of that creep somehow.
7:31 pm
K,
your cultured words drop like perls from your mouth. But how can a human being - if that's what you are - be so thick?
Peggy babes,
could you give me some of your beauty tips?
5:04 am
I imagine most cops, away from their jobs, are pretty much like the rest of the public in their behavior. Let's assume they are ALL really great guys and gals. That being said, I would like to say that I think the "PROFESSION" (not the person) is the most USELESS profession in the world. NOTHING good comes from having created that particular PROFESSION.
The ONLY WAY a nation is turned into a POLICE STATE is by having a PROFESSIONAL police force. America does NOT need a professional police force! They should pass a law REQUIRING every person, age 21 and older, to be trained how to safely operate and service their own guns and be REQUIRED to carry their own LOADED, ready to fire, pistols EVERYWHERE! Then make it a national law that EVERY person age 21 and older has the power to defend themselves or others whenever they see a criminal act under way. In other words, EVERY PERSON, 21 and older is a legitimate POLICE OFFICER!
The upside is, only an idiot would try to take on another person wearing a gun in the act of a crime if they knew that every person standing around had guns and were trained how to use them and had
the right to shoot back in self defense or to defend others.
Sure there'd be some "shoot-outs" but one thing is for sure, the criminal would be DEAD too. No wasted money on prisons and police pensions. Think of it FREE law and order! and no more having to put up with overbearing stupid cops, who would now have to go out and get an honest job like the rest of us.
EVERYONE could decide if you wanted to live in segregated communities or integrated communities. The person with a racial bias must dwell where only that race lives. Those with no racial bias could live together in their own integrated community. If you're BLACK and you hate WHITES then go live where only black people live. If you're WHITE and you hate Blacks then go live where only white people live.
Live in you own racial bias and leave the rest of the world alone. If you can't get along with each other then shoot each other until there's only one of you standing and then you should be at peace with no one else to blame your problems on. EVERY racial or ethnic bias is required to earn their own living and if they can agree among themselves they can set up and support their own welfare systems, at their own expense. No other group or racial bias has to support the other racial biases. EVERYBODY can write their own books and blab on about your heritage and how wonderful it is, and if what you're saying is true, then people will be lined up at your borders waiting to get in. If you don't have room for them then ya'll can shoot each other until there's enough room for the new folks who want to join you or you've killed 'em off for trespassing on your property. Pretty simple, don't you think? Easy life when EVERYBODY has equal authority.
9:50 am
Thom,
I suggest you have yourself elected to the house of representatives or check yourself in a nuthouse.
Love your style, Peggy.
Beauty tips, you don't need any, Angela.
9:58 am
angela,
i'm the thick one, but you can't spell pearl? but you did catch me on the non-human thing. i'm totally a cyborg. oops! found out!
for really reals: i thought maybe peggy was taking a story that actually did happen to her and embellishing it for humor's sake. cause when you strip away all the weird language, it's quite realistic to think that a man, cop or not, would harass a woman in a supermarket and make her feel uncomfortable. my bad.
10:21 am
K, if you are a cyborg, that's awesome! That laser eye thing you guys do rocks my world.
I too thought Peggy was upping the rhetorical ante with the "vulgar vile personage" thing -- didn't seem quite true, and if she actually said that, that sort of "My word, I'm appalled, you villain" approach could sound playfully flirty ... and it didn't sound like she wanted to flirt with this freak, cop or no cop!
Thom's post, on the other hand, made me want to find him and up his meds ASAP. (It is great, though, that so many prison systems are allowing inmates to play around on the 'net! Rehabilitation can't happen without Fun Activities. At 10 this morning, he has needlepoint.)
10:44 am
Interesting story, Peggy. What a pig!
Looking sharp this morning, Ernest.
Nice putdown of K, Angela… but wait… It’s mine! I used this line on Beaky! How dare you to bring it into play without my permission?!!!... Plagiarizer.
Beauty tips? You don’t need any. You don’t look a day older than 299!.
11:01 am
Shut the [swears disgustingly] up, you wanker. Bobby. Booby, more like it.
11:47 am
Angela,
Bobby used ‘old’ in a sense as to compare you with a fine wine [I'm not saying you're old by the way], great body and a little bit cheeky.
Stop whimpering, Bob.
Carrie's post appears perfect in every way.
11:37 am
Oh. I suppose it's all right then.
1:58 pm
I actually caused an accident in georgetown by changing lanes without signaling. Luckily no one was hurt but a taxi and truck had hit each other because of me (yeah, my bad, i know). When the cop (also white) arrived he took one look at me, the taxi driver, and the truck driver (white, middle eastern, and black respectively) and wrote me a quick ticket then left. I was nervous as hell because it was my first offense but the officer was unusually distant and almost unhelpful.
A week later I called the dc police department to check up on what the deal was but they had no record of it. The officer put his name and badge number on the ticket but never actually reported it.
It's been 4 years since then and there's been no word. Thanks... I guess.