700 Block 7th Street, NW.  Jan. 26th.  © 2012 Matt Dunn

DCist pointed to a disturbing video this weekend: A man in a wheelchair was tackled out of it by Metro Transit cops and arrested. The incident, which happened in broad daylight outside the U Street/Cardozo station on the Green and Yellow lines, attracted jeers and protests from bystanders and left the man bleeding. Metro responded to the video this morning:

On Thursday, May 19, the Metro Transit Police on routine patrol at the U St. Metrorail station observed a patron in a wheelchair drinking an alcoholic beverage. The officers asked the patron to leave the area and he refused. The officers then attempted to issue the patron a citation and when the patron refused to comply with the issuance of a citation he was told that he would be placed under arrest. The patron resisted arrest which resulted in him falling out of his wheelchair. The patron was arrested for assault on a police officer and drinking in public.

But in the video, the man isn't "falling out of his wheelchair." While it's obvious that he's struggling against the two officers, who both outweigh him, it's also obvious he was slammed to the ground as a result.

Reviewing the video, one Metropolitan Police Department officer who's made scores of arrest says he would have handled things differently. “I don't believe I would have gone that far. I don't believe I would've removed him from the wheelchair," says the cop.

The officer asks to remain anonymous because he doesn't have permission to speak about the incident. He points out that one way the cops could have avoided the controversial take down was by thinking things through. The suspect in the video looks as if he's in a motorized wheelchair, and "you can simply unplug those things from the battery," he says. Though that wouldn't have helped the suspect get into handcuffs, it would have taken the situation down a notch.

Another observation he makes is that the arrested man was left on the ground for too long. In the video, the officers don't seem to be making an effort to pick him up. That's something MPD avoids because of "positional asphyxiation," he says. A suspect can end up suffocating if they're left on the ground in the wrong position: "Our issue is that they need to get off the ground as soon as it's safe." The cop says that usually takes seconds. That a suspect was bleeding wouldn't make a difference.

But he also says it's hard to know all the particulars from a video. He wouldn't necessarily describe the transit cops' actions as heavy-handed. He says Metro's police force is trained differently and has different use-of-force guidelines: "Maybe they're learning it a different way."

A December MPD crime report obtained by City Desk showed a 46 percent increase. "Sex Assault statistics only include preliminary first and second degree offenses," the document read. "For more detailed information please see the Sexual Assault Report." So City Desk subsequently asked for the report through a Freedom of Information Act request.

MPD denied that request today, citing the need to protect confidential information:

"Your request is denied because the Sexual Assault report is an internal document created for law enforcement investigative purposes. According to the Intelligence Unit at the MPD, the Sexual Assault daily report reveals investigative techniques not generally known to the public, specifically information on the type of sexual assaults, location, factual basis, witness/victim information and other information.  D.C. Code 2-534(a)(3E).  Redaction of the privileged information would render the document incomprehensible."

Which means more detailed information won't immediately be forthcoming. Why the department didn't send over the redacted version, and leave it to City Desk to decide whether the document was "rendered incomprehensible," wasn't exactly clear.

Sources told News 4 last week that "friends" of 20-year-old Eric Foreman, who's been arrested for allegedly shooting Godleski, suspected Okorie had "snitched" to cops. According to an arrest warrant for Raymond Roseboro, Roseboro and several others approached Okorie at about 4:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Delafield Place NW on Nov. 30. But it was Roseboro who cops say pulled the trigger.

Okorie, a Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) ward, had been placed at a home just a mile away from his old neighborhood—which, it can be assumed, put him in danger. Roseboro himself was in and out of the juvenile system. If he's guilty of murder, that experience doesn't seem to have done him much good. Ongoing reporting by Washington City Paper's Jason Cherkis points out that DYRS has a lot to answer for regarding its approach to helping juvenile offenders in the District. But Okorie's death is about more than the failure of a single city department.

The District has a habit of ignoring the struggles of its youth until blood is spilled. In the interim, life in the city is all about new development projects, tighter noise ordinances, and increased police foot patrols in up-and-coming neighborhoods. As Washingtonians examine and address the problem of juvenile violence, one wonders what would happen if we could harness the awesome power of D.C.'s self-regard.

Roseboro has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec 21.

Backyard pot-growers will be happy to know that CBS reporter Howard Arenstein and his wife Orly Katz might never see the inside of a prison cell—they're no longer facing charges.

The couple were busted for possession with intent to distribute marijuana. That was due in part to the 11 hulking pot plants sprawling in their backyard when cops raided their home in Georgetown in October. The police were tipped off by a neighbor who was obviously not an Arenstein fan.

But at a preliminary hearing today, charges against the reporter were dropped without prejudice, as prosecutors seemed unable to locate the one and only witness they were supposed to call this morning, likely the arresting officer. Judge Kimberly Knowles dismissed the case for "wont of prosecution," but then warned the alleged drug dealers that charges might be filed again once the government located its witness.

A month ago, a source close to the case told City Desk that Arenstein and Katz would claim in court that the marijuana found in and on their property was for medical use. D.C.'s new medical marijuana laws, however, don't allow citizens to grow their own stash.

Photo by Eric Caballero via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

If you're anticipating the D.C. Medical Examiner cracking the mystery of what happened to Ali Ahmed Mohammed, be prepared for the possibility of an excruciating wait.

It might just take until December for the city office to tell us how Mohammed met his end on October 15. The 27-year-old died sometime after he hurled a brick through the window of local venue DC9, and was chased by five men associated with the club. Supporters of the five eventually charged with aggravated assault say the pursuers only restrained Mohammed after the glass shattering, so they could turn him over to cops. But police tell a different version of events. They say at least one eyewitness watched the men beat Mohammed unconscious. There's still no sign of an autopsy report expected to clear things up.

And it might not show anytime soon. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCFE) spokesperson Beverly Fields points out that per the usual National Association of  Medical Examiners guidelines, the District scrutinizers have a whopping 60 to 90 days to submit their autopsy report.

But in a situation where various conspiracy theories abound, including that Mohammed was fine up until he was placed in police custody, a wait that long could be interpreted as stalling. The office conducts the actual autopsy within 24 hours of a suspicious death, after all, so what's taking so long?

"In some cases, depending on what type of injury or manner they can make the determination in one day," says Fields. She says a situation where a victim has a gunshot wound to the head, for instance, and there are plenty of witnesses to the murder, equals a quick turn around.

More complex cases take time. A municipal investigative office that operates independent of the police department, the District's medical examiners might have to request reports or ask for consultations in order to get a clear picture of a victim's fate. "Every single case is distinct," says Fields.

And what of Mohammed's case in particular? Fields can only tell us there's nothing funny going on with the time it's taking to churn out the report. "It's not because anything is wrong or because they're doing anything out of the ordinary," she says. She also says those who think D.C.'s medical detectives are taking a unusually long time with Mohammed's case are mistaken.

"It [the wait so far] isn't really long for the industry," she says. If that seems disappointing to those breathlessly awaiting closure, it gets worse. The 90-day limit is a recommendation, not a rule. "There are going to be cases that take more than ninety days," Fields says.

Though a long wait might be frustrating, a rush job definitely isn't appropriate. Whatever the office says will be pivotal to either convicting or exonerating the men thought responsible for a tragic death. But it might be nice if the whole thing could be resolved sooner than three months from now.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Apparently some Catholic University of America (CUA) students have been barricading their doors in preparation for an invasion this Halloween weekend. Rumors have been circulating that blood-thirsty gang MS-13 will be marauding the campus soon, looking to assault co-eds as part of a depraved initiation rite!

But according to an e-mail sent out by CUA Director of Public Safety Thomasine Johnson, there's no need to worry—the kids are just being paranoid.

I am writing to inform the Catholic University community that recent rumors of an alleged attack by MS-13 gang members on Catholic University students this coming weekend are absolutely false. The rumors allege that gang members are planning to assault several CUA female students as an initiation rite.

These rumors are urban legends. The Department of Public Safety has been in contact with the Intelligence Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, which has also confirmed that the rumors are baseless. DPS believes the rumors were sparked by speculation about graffiti on Spellman Hall that reads “2013.” According to the rumors, 2013 is linked to MS-13. In fact, this is not a gang tagging. It is simply graffiti, perhaps left by a member of the Class of 2013.

DPS will remain in contact with the Metropolitan Police Department about this matter. As always, DPS will maintain patrols on campus all weekend.

Campus rumor mills are good at producing the outlandish, but this seems to go beyond the usual. (2013 somehow becomes an MS-13 tag? Come on.) The outsized rumor is probably a manifestation of the anxiety students may be feeling about being located on a posh and privileged campus located in the not-always-so-posh and privileged neighborhood of Brookland, where muggings and shootings happen a little too frequently.

So relax, Catholic students! (But do remember—locking your dorm room door is always a good way to keep the kid down the hall from walking off with your iPad.)

Photo by JaredFrazer Creative Commons license

As the Chandra Levy trial rolls on, the proceedings will eventually dwell on a creepy theory: Authorities believe murder suspect Ingmar Guandique has a portrait of his victim tattooed on his chest. H Street tattoo artist Paul Roe may be setting them straight.

In 2008, D.C. cops checked out Guandique in a California prison, where he was serving time for two knife attacks against women, and discovered he had loads of tats, including what court papers say are "a picture of a devil on top of his head, an image of the character 'Chuckie' holding a knife on his back, and a naked female on his chest..." Prosecutors contend the woman depicted was meant to be Levy.

According to court papers, the defense wants Roe, who runs Britishink Tattoos at 5th and H streets NE, to take the stand as an expert witness so that he can tell jurors that the jailhouse artist who did Guandique's skin art was talented. And that's important because the naked woman on Guandique apparently doesn't look very much like Levy. Court papers filed by the defense explain:

After having examined the photographs of Mr. Guandique's tattoos, Mr. Roe's opinion is that his tattoos are detailed and well done, and according, if they were intended to be a portrait of a specific person, they would look like the person after whom they were modeled. Mr. Roe does not believe that Mr. Guandique's tattoos look anything like Chandra Levy, and in fact, they are iconic images that are repeated hundreds of times over in "flash" images and tattoo magazines, pin-up poses, etc.

If allowed to take the stand, Roe will claim that Guandique's tattoos reflect typical "misogynistic poses that have been depicted hundreds of times in all different styles of tattooing," as opposed to reflecting an effort to memorialize a brutal murder. Those would seem to be deep waters for a tattooist to wade into.

Contacted, Roe said he has no comment regarding his upcoming duties. He also declined to talk about his work. But this video interview with Roe seems to show a guy dedicated to his field.

Photo of Paul Roe from www.britishinkdc.com

When news hit that D.C. cops busted a CBS reporter for dealing pot, we thought the journo might be the hook-up for federal Washington's political and media elite. But a source familiar with Howard Arenstein's side of the case tells City Desk the 60-year-old Georgetown resident isn't Jason Chaffetz's weed connect after all.

Police arrested Arenstein and his wife because of 11 fecund pot plants, that reached as high as eight-feet, along with several bags of pot. The couple was charged with possession with intent to distribute. That's probably because the plants could have produced a pound of marijuana each, and 11 pounds of weed is a lot of smoke for two people, even if you're dedicated stoners.

But the source says that despite all the product police found when they raided Arenstein's home on Saturday, he wasn't growing the herb for cash: "It was not being distributed to anyone else." In fact, the source says, as details emerge, it'll become apparent that the cannabis was being utilized as "medical marijuana."

If that's true, the whole ordeal might end up getting politicized. Though the law may come under fire if/when the Republicans win the House in November, the District has legalized pot for medicinal use. Despite the fact that patients aren't allowed to grow their own plants or possess more than four ounces at a time, going forward, Arenstein—an award-winning journalist—could make a good poster boy for medical marijuana advocates.

Photo by katherine_hitt via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 2.0

It's hard for a talented gardener not to brag, and that might have gotten CBS reporter Howard Arenstein in a lot of trouble. A police source claims cops would have never come upon the radio reporter's enormous backyard pot plants if the suspect's ego hadn't swelled along with his crop.

After receiving a complaint about him, vice cops raided Arenstein's Georgetown home on Saturday, seizing 11 pot plants, and six 2-ounce bags of marijuana. The complaint, says the source, came from one of the many neighbors Arenstein had pointed his plants out to in a moment of pride. That was a mistake. One of the people Arenstein boasted to wasn't very fond of him and went straight to police.

The CBS News radio talent was arrested along with his wife, Orly Katz, for possession with intent to distribute, as cops have a notion the couple didn't plan to smoke the tall green plants—which would have produced a pound of weed each—all by themselves. The two are awaiting a preliminary hearing. They could face a year in prison and up to $10,000 in fines if convicted.

If Arenstein turns out to be a drug dealer, it'll be interesting to find out what motivated him. Debt? The thrill of breaking the law? A desire to be the coolest 60-year-old in Georgetown? Also, who did he sell to? It's doubtful his clients were run-in-the-mill potheads. If he began naming names, might a few belong to federal Washington or the D.C. press corps?

Photo by Eric Caballero via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

*D.C. Police are still on the lookout for Corey Harrison, the slippery fellow who went AWOL on his child support and then, once in custody, escaped from the United Medical Center in the 1300 block of Southern Ave. SE:

He escaped from a men’s room by climbing through the ceiling of the restroom and then making his way to another room. When he escaped, he was wearing a white T-shirt, boxer shorts and a handcuff on one wrist.

*Prince of Petworth teams with IntangibleArts to wield a video camera in imitation of PBS. (See above.) Nice shades, yer highness!

*The D.C. Council, perhaps as a nod to our demonstrated lack of gumption in the face of actual weather, wants you to clean ice & snow off your car but won't fine you if you don't. (Via D.C. Wire)

*Still got your button from the Capital Fringe Festival? Julianne announces your February perks.

*Juliet Lapidos answers all of your dirty little Michael Phelps/ganja-related questions.

*ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: George Washington was elected (1789) and reelected (1792) as our first Prez. And you can be damn sure that those pamphleteers liveblogged the shit out of his first 100 days.

Wearing a fake beard while robbing the same bank twice: priceless.

Image courtesy of BuyCostumes.com