Chief Lanier needs to understand that leadership can’t be a popularity contest. Her reckless statement confirmed that she is ineffective and unable to confront the people who truly need to be confronted. Her actions single handedly damaged the credibility and reputation of the Metropolitan Police Department. The fact that she disgraced and humiliated her detective for doing what the members of the Third District should have done, instead of being a true leader and being honest with the mob, regardless of how bad it may have hurt their feelings, erased any respect/credibility that I, as a taxpaying resident, reasonably could have had for her. She literally did not hesitate to throw the detective to the wolves to appease the public. The true act of a coward not a leader.

Are Chief Lanier and Assistant Chief Newsham to dense to realize that had anyone been injured or property been damaged, whether they voluntarily participated in the illegal activity or not, the district would have been held liable once it was revealed that the police department was aware that the illegal activity was occurring and allowed it to continue. As a voting taxpayer, I’m tired of paying for expensive champagne and getting moonshine when it comes to the management of the Metropolitan Police Department.

The snowballers were in the Wrong, they were in the street blocking traffic , throwing objects at each other. It looked like a riot. Who is to say everyone was throwing snow?, If you drove up to a scene like that at 14th & U street and your vehicle got hit and you felt violated .

What did you expect a Police Officer to do Ignore it?

This is no public park, it is a busy Metropolitan intersection. In these days of Homeland Security concerns and terrorist activity ; do you expect the actions of 200 people in the street trowing things to go unchallenged in the Nations Capital?

((If you do your on drugs..on in a dope haze or something.wait for the next IMF or Bankers meeting.))

Personally I am glad the cop Stopped got out, radioed for backup and went to go find the 'dummy' who threw a snowball at him even when he was armed standing there and got pelted with a snowball. The Police officer showed obvious restraint.
The crowd didn't show any restraint;they were taunting, shouting F bombs and the crowd should have been arrested ; but police officers are in short supply during a snow emergency.
Where do you snowballers get off and take any responsibility for your actions? You don't you act like spoiled brats. These city streets are not here for your snowball fights. Grow Up and find a park to play in children..

PUH-LEASE!! THAT'S insulting and patently bogus. He was, in obvious fact, getting out of his car to confront the person(s) who had the audacity to toss a snowball at his Hummer. It is quite disturbing that such obvious 'spin' (fiction) is allowed in an OFFICIAL statement/report. One would hope for more HONESTY from the police – indeed, it makes one wonder about the veracity of ANY police report, particularly those written without the benefit of such compelling video evidence…

If pulling a GLOCK is this OFF-DUTY cop's first thought/reaction - sorry, the dude should be behind a desk – unarmed. This guy’s a prime example of the theory that "Anyone who WANTS to be a cop, SHOULD NOT be allowed to BE a cop."

Sadly, Detective Baylor's behavior reinforces the stereotypes of both Hummer drivers and bad cops: thin-skinned people who desperately seek out the trappings of power (a badge, a gun, an oversized SUV complete with "FOP" license plate - all the better to remind others you're the Man, and get out of traffic tickets to boot) to compensate for cowardice, low self-esteem, or other deficiency.

Jim - Thanks for the "friendly reminder," but I'm not sure how it's even relevant that someone, sometime in the past, was prosecuted for endangering others with ice. People do indeed get hurt in snowball fights which, like so many other fun winter activities (sledding, skiing) can be dangerous. But that doesn't mean it's appropriate to confront the people engaged in those activities with a firearm. More to the point, no one was being hurt (and if current reports are to be believed, little or no property damaged) in Saturday's mass snowball fight. Police should indeed assess the totality of the situation, as you say. Here, the videos and MPD's own statements indicate that Detective Baylor failed to do so. Note how, by contrast, the many videos of this incident show the other MPD officers on the scene handling this difficult situation very well. They don't seem to have felt the need to brandish their weapons or get out the riot gear. Unlike Detective Baylor, they don't lose their cool. Indeed, they don't seem to lose their composure despite the repeated taunts of "pig" etc. from those in the crowd (mostly at Baylor, but at the other officers too). And none appear to follow the lead of Det. Baylor in grabbing and shoving people in the crowd, even though Baylor probably outranks every officer at the scene.