Today, the D.C. Police Department announced the latest results of its All Hands On Deck effort which lasted from 6 a.m. on June 5 to 6 a.m. on June 7. For those unfamiliar with AHOD, the program just means that for a given weekend all available sworn officers are put on patrol. It's also one of Chief Cathy Lanier's big projects. This latest law enforcement ramp up netted 510 arrests. The arrests numbers are way up from the previous AHOD's 377 arrests.

But D.C. Police did not provide a breakdown of those arrests. They've just offered the bulk number.

Thankfully, the U.S. Attorney's Office just provided City Desk with a breakdown of cases filed---or not filed---during the June 5-June 7 time period. This does not include the various minor charges that would have been filed with the Office of Attorney General.

The numbers are up to your interpretation. Was this a good AHOD or a bad AHOD?

Read More "The Breakdown From The Lastest AHOD: 85 Cases Tossed" »

Not too often these days that you see overt displays of executive-legislative interbranch friendship. Yet, this was one of those days, with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, and two members of the MPD brass joining legislators Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans, and Jim Graham on a Ward 1 street corner this afternoon.

The ostensible purpose was to urge passing of a sprawling anti-crime bill before the start of the traditional summer crime season. The clear subtext, however, was that the parties were taking a shot across the bow of At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who as chair of the public safety and judiciary committee holds the legislative fate of the bill in his hands.

Each of the parties urged that the 56-page bill, encompassing a number of crimefighting proposals, be passed on an emergency basis (meaning the bill goes into effect immediately for 90 days upon mayoral signature, bypassing congressional review) at the Council's June 2 legislative meeting. Mendelson has committed to getting an emergency bill through by the council's summer recess, which kicks off in early July.

"We need the new tools in this legislation," said Graham, citing recent shooting on the 1400 block of W Street NW (full disclosure: also LL's home block). "We need the tougher approach."

Evans was even more strident: "If we do not act...this bill going through the regular process next March. Next March!...That is unacceptable!" Later he added, in a swipe at Mendelson's meticulous ways, "What's process? It's the enemy of progress!" and "I want this thing moved pronto!"

OK, "pronto." Question is, where was Mendo?

Read More "Fenty & Friends Take a Shot at Phil Mendelson" »

On Nov. 6, 2008, David Kerstetter was shot and killed inside his home by D.C. police officers. Despite the decision of the U.S. attorney's office not to prosecute the officers involved, Kerstetter's family has filed a notice with the District that it plans to sue the city over their son's death. The family's attorney, Douglas Sparks, notified Mayor Adrian Fenty in a letter dated May 1 [PDF].

We have written about the Kerstetter shooting here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here---not to mention the cover story linked above. The Sparks letter is based on the lawyer's interviews with witnesses, the autopsy report, and an exhaustive scene analysis. It provides the first counter-narrative to law enforcement's public account that Kerstetter had lunged at the officers with a knife---that Officer Frederick Friday shot and killed the Logan Circle resident in self defense. The new evidence appears to point to excessive force.

Read More "Breaking: David Kerstetter’s Family To Sue The District" »

I'm pretty sure that this blog post's headline could be written every single day for weeks, maybe months. I wrote essentially the same headline for a blog post dated March 16 on the subject of DeOnte Rawlings. And another post a few weeks ago mentioning the issue. Back in early March, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and other police officials testified before Councilmember Phil Mendelson's Judiciary Committee. During their testimony, they assured Mendo that they would be giving him its case report on the Rawlings shooting.

Here's what I wrote back then:

"Last Monday, At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson held one of his Judiciary Committee’s oversight hearings on the D.C. Police Department. For the most part, the hearing was routine: right down to the councilmember asking for the investigative materials related to the DeOnte Rawlings shootings. By Mendo’s own count, he has asked for the Rawlings report at least three times.

At Monday’s hearing, D.C.Police Chief Cathy Lanier and her top brass assured Mendelson that he would have the Rawlings case report on his desk very soon. The expectation was for a Friday deadline"

Well, it's almost May. And according to Mendo's office, the Councilmember has yet to receive the Rawlings investigative reports. How long is this going to take? How many more cheap blog posts am I going to have to write before Lanier makes good on her promise?

Earlier this week, I asked the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Office of Attorney General for a breakdown of the types of arrests made from this past weekend's All Hands On Deck initiative. The somewhat controversial program basically has the entire D.C. Police Department hitting city streets and, you know, fighting crime. Last weekend produced 377 arrests.

We heard reports that cyclists were getting ticketed. One colleague told me that his neighbor got stung with a drinking-in-public arrest. The evidence against him: an empty cup that at one point had booze in it. His case was tossed.

So what of 377 arrests were for real stuff? It appears that D.C. Police made a good amount of solid cases. You be the judge!

Read More "A Partial Breakdown Of All Hands On Deck Arrests" »

Did the police get all handsy with you this weekend? During the past three days, the D.C. Police launched another one of its All-Hands-On-Deck efforts in which all available officers were required to work a patrol beat. I saw the police respond in force to several little scenes---but the buzz going around centered on police apparently stopping and ticketing cyclists.

Read More "Weekend Police Roundup: Bikes, General Logan, Shootings" »

The D.C. Police have re-launched its All-Hands-On-Deck program for the weekend. It started today at 6 a.m. So what does this mean? It means that every available officer will be on patrol. Cheap joke: Expect longer lines at 7-11! Cheap publicity: According to WJLA: "The initiative is a continuation of the initiative that began last year with five separate All Hands events. Taken together, the five policing drives in 2008 netted more than 2,300 arrests."

No details were given on the nature of those arrests. The FOP has called the initiative a drain on resources and a costly p.r. move. And Upset The Setup has questioned the program's effectiveness.

On Sunday, the Washington Post dropped a huge A1 investigative look at the DeOnte Rawlings shooting written by Cheryl Thompson. The Rawlings case has rightly consumed the paper. Two off-duty cops--James Haskel and Anthony Clay--went looking for a stolen minibike that resulted in the shooting death of 14-year-old Rawlings. In the immediate aftermath of that fatal September day in 2007, transparency and accountability were promised by city officials. They have yet to fulfill those promises.

The Post devoted more than 3,700 words to yesterday's Rawlings story. And before that piece, the paper had produced more than two dozen stories on the Rawlings saga, noting every twist and turn in the case---from the autopsy findings to a feature on the neighborhood where Rawlings was shot and everything in between. Their stories aren't just sourced by angry family members either. Their stories appear sourced by well-meaning cops as well. [It's not just the family who wants the answers out there, it might just be the rank and file, too].

What made yesterday's story such a stunner was how little news was in there. It was a testament to the stubbornness of police officials--Chief Cathy Lanier, in particular--who continue to refuse to release their investigative documents and findings.

Read More "What’s The Real News In The Post’s Rawlings Story?" »

You think you know Joseph Randolph Mays. You know that he's an ex-postal worker. You know that he's been charged with stabbing to death his girlfriend Erika Peters and her two young boys on March 21. You know that he's now another defendant awaiting trial at the D.C. Jail.

But Joseph Randolph Mays was much more. He was a poet, a spiritual counselor, and an Internet addict. On one of his more than six blogs and websites, he penned his own simple message to the world:

"My message to everyone in the world. Let’s do this and make our world a better place to live in."

Read More "Who Is Joseph Randolph Mays?" »

On March 21, Erika Peters and her two young boys were found murdered in their Carver Terrace home at 2000 Maryland Avenue NE Apt. 104. Within hours, her live-in boyfriend Joseph Randolph Mays was charged with the fatal stabbings. This week I wrote a cover story about the tragedy and the several questions left unresolved. One of the big questions: What exact time was the 911 call made?

Peters' neighbors say the police arrived a lot earlier than 1 p.m. (the time listed on the police department's press release). Two government sources suggested the neighbors are correct. If this is true, it would mean the police took at least two hours to get inside the Peters' home.

I asked repeatedly for the exact time from various government officials. They all stonewalled me on this most basic fact. Attorney General Peter Nickles gave the reason most often used---the Peters case was an on-going case so that fact could not be made public.

I am still unsure why the exact time of the first 911 call would have any bearing on the case against Mays. The stonewalling was just unnecessary and unusually obnoxious even for government officials in the age of Fenty. I know people have a low tolerance for whiny journalists. But this is different. This issue goes to public safety and accountability.

Read More "Who Is Stonewalling On The Peters Case?" »

Today, Erika Peters and her young sons, Erik Harper and Dakota Peters, will be laid to rest. The wake and funeral services will be starting at 9:30 a.m. at Mount Calvary Holy Church at 610 Rhode Island Avenue NE. On March 21, they were stabbed to death in their apartment. Police have arrested Peters' live-in boyfriend Joseph Randolph Mays for the murders.

In this week's cover story, we chronicle the events of March 21, the police response, and Mays' mysterious life. We also ask three questions still unanswered about the murders. The only thing that is clear is that the residents of Carver Terrace had tried to offer support to the family, and knew them well.

Read More "Remembering Erika Peters And Her Sons" »

Last Monday, At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson held one of his Judiciary Committee's oversight hearings on the D.C. Police Department. For the most part, the hearing was routine: right down to the councilmember asking for the investigative materials related to the DeOnte Rawlings shootings. By Mendo's own count, he has asked for the Rawlings report at least three times.

At Monday's hearing, D.C.Police Chief Cathy Lanier and her top brass assured Mendelson that he would have the Rawlings case report on his desk very soon. The expection was for a Friday deadline. In an editorial the day of the deadline, the Post urged the police department to release more information about shootings--including the details on the recent police shooting death of a bus driver. We'd like the records behind the David Kerstetter shooting on November 6. And the Osman Abdullahi shooting in late February. The Post sort of piggybacked on David Simon's own editorial in its newspaper a few weeks ago.

So is it shocking that on Friday, the D.C. Police failed to give Mendelson the DeOnte Rawlings report? Of course not. This is what the department does with such things.

"I think that's still at the factory for redactions," Mendelson joked during a phone interview. It was 5 p.m. on Friday. "This is at least the third time I've asked for the D. Rawlings report."

Read More "D.C. Police Stonewalls Mendo On Police Shootings" »

Here's a super uniformed rant: Since November, D.C. Police Department cops have shot and killed three people (including one on Sunday). You'd think the D.C. City Council would be enraged at these incidents and want to get to the bottom of these cases. Yesterday, At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson held an oversight hearing on the police department where he was free to question Chief Cathy Lanier and other department brass. Maybe Mendo---and junior crimefigher Jim Graham---got around to the police shootings. But for the hour I caught, I got nothing but intense bean counting, Grahamstanding (typical), and pats on the back (overtime pay is under control). Ugh. I need to watch the rest of the hearing! It appears that Mendo did ask some tough questions!

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: It’s Almost Community Garden Time" »

From the right: David, his father Carl, and his brother Kristopher

A few days ago, I called David Kerstetter's parents in Arizona. I wanted to know what they thought about the D.C. Police Department's sudden change in policy in how it handles mentally-ill residents. Their son had been suffering from mental-illness and was shot and killed by a police officer on Nov. 6 inside his home. The department's investigation into the shooting is "still ongoing," according to its Internal Affairs bureau.

After hearing the awful news on Nov. 6, the Kerstetters immediately flew from their Phoenix-area home to D.C.

They had to identify their son's body in the morgue. They had to bury him in Rock Creek Cemetery. And they went to his apartment to try and make sense of the scene the police left behind. They saw David's blood on his bathroom floor. They saw multiple bullet holes.

The family wanted answers so they asked to meet with Chief Cathy Lanier. They had read her statements in the Washington Post that seemed to quickly exonerate her officers. They never got to talk to her. Instead they got Assistant Chief Peter Newsham, who heads up Internal Affairs.

Read More "Kerstetter’s Parents Disappointed in Lanier" »

I got a lengthy D.C. Police Department document today which includes a bunch of charts and stats on its rank and file. If the figures are correct, the doc goes a long way toward clearing up one issue that has plagued this reporter (and, well, the police union): How many officers does the police department actually have?

It's a simple question. I called the department's public information office three times this week to get answer. The first response: "Approximately 4,000" cops. Approximately just doesn't cut it. Two more calls to 202-727-4383 and still nothing.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier told me at the Levy press conference that the department has seen an increase in officers and resources. This was news to me. She said this was the reason for a new change in their approach to mentally-ill residents. So I wanted real numbers.

This document has the real numbers. Or at least seems to.

Read More "Just How Many D.C. Police Department Officers Are There?" »