A red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK (I didn’t get the state or even see the driver) went out of control on wet pavement this afternoon and smashed into the car I was sitting in at a stoplight on New Hampshire Avenue just north of the DC border.

The red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK then took off through the stoplight.

Nobody in my car was injured, but my driver’s side door was pried open and the whole left side mangled as a result of the impact with the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK.

My car would still move. So while calling 911, I tried following the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK into DC.

But the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK was in extreme getaway mode and lost me almost immediately.

The 911 system put me on hold. And kept me there.

Before anybody at 911 picked up, I’d found a cop in a Metro Transit Police car stopped at a stop sign on Kansas Avenue. I tried telling him about hit and run with the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK, but he said he was on another call.

I told the Metro Transit cop 911 was keeping me on hold and asked if he could call for another officer. No, he said, he was on another call.

Before 911 picked up, an Officer Maloney of the Fourth District of the Metropolitan Police Department pedaled up on a bike and, seeing the condition of my ride, asked if a red Jaguar did it.

I said yes, and told him about the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK.

Turns out Officer Maloney had almost been killed by the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK a minute earlier while speeding away on Kansas Avenue.

If the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK had just hit and runned me in PG County, I’d bet a lot of money the driver would get away with it.

But Officer Maloney seemed pretty on the ball, and pretty not too happy about what the red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK had almost done to him.

I think anybody driving a banged-up red Jaguar with license plate Z63 CJK around here is in trouble.

And my neck’s hurting.

Yesterday, in my quest to meet new people and feel more at home in this new city, I decided to attend a meetup at the Gallery Place cinema. Our group watched the new Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly movie Step Brothers (which, if I were a movie critic, I’d describe as “a rip-roaring good time,” but I’m not, so I’ll just say it was hil.ari.ous and the duo’s best work yet).

On our way out after the movie (at about 6:45 p.m.), the lobby area was packed, and we soon realized the exits were blocked by uniformed officers and the walkway out to the road (by Clive’s) was deserted, though I could see police officers across the street walking around. The officer I spoke with said he had no idea what was going on and pointed me to another exit in a different direction.

A guy on the street told me that Coldplay was headlining at the Verizon Center (in the same complex as the cinema), but I overheard a security guard telling people there was a bomb threat and someone else said there was a “mysterious package” somewhere.

Seventh Street Northwest was closed for at least an hour, though I can’t seem to find any report of what happened. Are these types of things just a usual occurrence here? Does anyone know what happened? This is the second time in a week and a half that I’ve been somewhere in the city and an area was closed off due to a “suspicious bag” or a “mysterious package.”

This might be my final installment into the saga that is the life of Captain Melvin Gresham—a D.C. Police Department official who appears to always be in the center of intrigue and controversy. According to his civil-suit complaint filed in June, Gresham is a hero/whistle blower/all-around standup cop. To cop sources, he’s a supervisor who needs some leadership training asap.

“I had to bang heads with him, very disagreeable is the way he investigated things. He never has any proof. When we go to arbitration against him, he loses most of the arbitrations. We’ve had several arbitration hearings with our members and he’s lost. All the evidence is, ‘What I heard.’ Nothing ever of substance. He never has any real evidence against anybody. When you’re a policeman, you have to have solid facts,” says one veteran officer.

Gresham has his followers. Many of whom have commented on this post and our last installment.

The current Gresham dustup stems from a traffic accident. The allegation: Gresham got into a fender bender and pressured an officer to change the accident report in his favor.

In Gresham’s complaint, he addresses the accident on page 10, bullet-point No. 23. Or rather, he dances around the allegations, focusing mainly on picking apart the testimony and character of Lt. Mike Smith.

The complaint hones in on anonymous letter (was it written by Smith?), Smith’s believing that Gresham is a very rich man, and the allegation that Smith admitted to “tampering” with evidence. “Lt. Smith was off duty and had no actual basis for interjecting himself into the investigation,” the complaint states.

The complaint notes that the police department withdrew the charges against Gresham. “However, Chief Lanier insisted on serving Cpt. Gresham an official reprimand.” The reprimand addresses the very serious allegation of witness intimidation:

According to the complaint, the reprimand reads:

“Internal Affairs Agent Denise Garrett investigated the alleged misconduct. Agent Garrett determined that your demeanor and subsequent confrontation with the reporting officer was intimidating and may have jeopardized the impartiality of the accident investigation.”

Read the rest of this entry »

As promised, City Desk has more from the Captain Melvin Gresham saga. The first installment provided a recap of events and the detailing of Gresham’s lawsuit against the D.C. police and various named officials. Gresham cited the Whistleblower Protection Act and various alleged conspiracies to get him and other top brass.

Here are some more allegations Gresham puts forth in his civil suit complaint:

• Gresham accuses then-Assistant Chief Jose Acosta of ordering him to “set up” Commander Winston Robinson. Acosta allegedly wanted Gresham to “assist in sabotaging Commander Robinson’s leadership initiatives.” According to the complaint, Acosta told Gresham that the order was at the “behest of the ‘Chief’” and if he didn’t comply he “would be targeted.”

Read the rest of this entry »

A while ago, I posted a blog item noting WTOP’s reporting that Capt. Melvin Gresham (at the time a supervisor in the 3rd District) had gotten himself into some hot water over a traffic accident.

WTOP wrote:

“WTOP has learned Capt. Melvin Gresham from the Third District Police station in Northwest was involved in an accident with a Metro bus while driving his department vehicle. Gresham told a subordinate officer, who responded to the accident, to change a police report to indicate the Metro bus driver was at fault.”

I went ahead and interviewed two police officials about the incident. One of them was Lt. Mike Smith who was interviewed by internal affairs about the incident. Smith had come on the accident scene and was well versed in the events on the scene. I also interviewed another police official who had previous dealings with Gresham and characterized the supervisor as “not a fair person.”

The blog item was fairly run of the mill: a graph or two taken from the WTOP piece and some quick phone calls piggybacking on the news. This did not stop the comment box from filling up with allegations that my reporting had been way off or to keep everyone updated on the latest in the case or personally slam Lt. Smith.

In late June, Gresham filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. He listed as the defendants in the case: Chief Cathy Lanier, Assistant Chief Jose Acosta, the police department as well as other officers and officials including Lt. Smith. The complaint alleges the defendants retaliated against Gresham under the Whistleblower Protection Act, defamation, breach of contract, and “intentional infliction of Emotional Distress.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Bells, whistles, blogs, Dateline homages, and….no news. Can someone please point out the new info, the new reporting that went into the Post’s Chapter 4 in the Chandra Levy Saga?

The police may or may not have leaked info. The police may or may not have lied early on about Gary Condit. Big deal.

Chandra Levy’s parents have every right to their grief, every right to seek justice for their daughter’s death. They have every right to think their daughter is the most interesting story ever. That’s all understandable. I feel bad for them, for what happened to their daughter. But.

But reporters, they have choices. They can pick their stories (sometimes).

I hate to say this but Chandra Levy is boring. She interned. She liked to work out. She messed around with a boring congressman (watched HBO, had sleepovers, gushed to friends ala Monica). She was killed by probably a random assailant.

The most interesting moment in the entire Post series is the reporters’ decision to a) describe the contents of Chandra Levy’s suitcase and b) use the word “panties” instead of “underwear.”

I’ve still got my gay pride beads on from today’s rain-soaked parade. But here’s a question for the rest of the folks who lined 17th and P streets today: is it just me, or has Capitol Pride gone a little corporate?

The parade started with the Chief of Police and the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, followed by Mayor Adrian Fenty, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and a smattering of Councilmembers. But then it seemed like one business after another.

Citibank, Verizon, Bloom Grocery Stores all participated in the parade. Southwest Airlines had one of the coolest and biggest floats all day (they even gave out inflatable airplane toys). You should have seen the woman on the Maid to Clean float gyrate.

The D.C. Cowboys were great, and PFLAG’s “I Love My Gay Son” signs always make me a little teary. And far be it from me to judge how a marginalized community celebrates itself. But it made me a little sad that the guys in leather were so far behind SunTrust Bank’s ATM puppet.

Yesterday, news broke that a D.C. Police Department official had his police powers revoked. Third District Capt. Melvin Gresham has been removed from his official duties pending the outcome of a now long-running investigation into his conduct over a car accident.

Apparently, in November, Gresham got into an accident with a Metro bus. He then ordered one of his subordinates to alter the accident report.

Here’s what WTOP reported:

“WTOP has learned Capt. Melvin Gresham from the Third District Police station in Northwest was involved in an accident with a Metro bus while driving his department vehicle. Gresham told a subordinate officer, who responded to the accident, to change a police report to indicate the Metro bus driver was at fault.”

Lt. Michael Smith was on the scene that day. He says that he has since cooperated with the investigation. Since the investigation is pending, he refused to reveal any details of what he told investigators.

Smith says the investigation has stressed him out. He adds that he has gained 30 pounds as a result of the incident.

Was he surprised that Gresham was removed? “I wasn’t surprised at all,” Smith says. “To tell you the truth, that’s why I was so stressed out. I knew that it was going to be serious.”

A police official, who is familiar with Gresham’s conduct overall, says the captain has long targeted other cops with flimsy misconduct charges. “He targeted people,” says the officer, who requested anonymity. “I think he was just not a fair person.”

Do you trust Gresham? “No. Absolutely not,” the officer says.

For now police officials are busy offering up a lot of no comments. Gresham did not answer his cell phone when we called this afternoon. There’s more to the captain’s saga. Stay tuned.

Gresham isn’t the only Third District official who has fallen under scrutiny. We wrote about another captain’s issues a while back.

The Post reports today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that investigators have found no wrongdoing by D.C. police officers in the DeOnte Rawlings case. Rawlings was shot to death on September 17. The two officers–James Haskel and Anthony Clay–went out looking for a stolen minibike and allegedly came upon Rawlings and the bike along the 600 block of Atlantic Street SE. The officers were fired upon and a chase ensued. Rawlings, 14, was shot to death.

Federal prosecutors still have not yet answered a number of questions stemming from the case.

*How did Rawlings come to be shot in the back of the head?

*What about the bruises found on Rawlings body?

*Why did the officers not identify themselves right away? The two claim there wasn’t enough time.

*Did Rawlings in fact shoot at the two officers?

Investigators in the case still do not have the gun used against the officers. Maybe more of the facts will come out in the Rawlings’ family lawsuit.