Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various headscratchers. You can read part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, part five here, and part six here. Our latest installment focuses on deposition witness: James Haskel’s wife—Corsondra L. Haskel.

Mrs. Haskel is important. Why? Because immediately after the shooting, Clay drove Haskel’s Tahoe back to her house. The first civilian he talked to was Corsondra L. Haskel.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part 7: The Concerned Witness” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various headscratchers. You can read part one here, part two here, part three here, part four here, and part five here. In this latest installment, we find a very curious detail—one that complicates Haskel’s decision to go out looking for his mini bike.

On September 17, 2007, Haskel didn’t just leave a wife and young child behind to go looking for his mini bike. He left a fellow D.C. cop.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part 6: Haskel’s Neighbors Do The Right Thing” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various headscratchers. You can read part one here, part two here, part three here, and part four here. In this latest installment, we focus on Haskel’s explanation of why he fled the scene. Immediately following his shooting of Rawlings in the back of the head, Haskel contends a hostile crowd formed.

Haskel’s contention is not backed up by his fellow cops.

In his deposition with Rawlings’ family attorney Gregory Lattimer, Sgt. Ralph Wax tries to make the case for Haskel. But after lengthy questioning, Wax must concede that the crowd may not have been hostile at all.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part 5: Crowd Control” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various headscratchers. You can read part one here, part two here, and part three here. In this installment, we present a curious incident that took place shortly after the Rawlings shooting.

According to the D.C. Police’s preliminary investigative report, the shooting drew a very high-profile crowd to the scene at Highland Dwellings: Mayor Adrian Fenty, Chief Cathy Lanier, Asst. Chief Willie Dandridge, 7D Command Joel Maupin, Commander Alfred Durham, Special Operations Division Commander Patrick Burke, Acting Asst. Chief in the Office of Professional Responsibility Matthew Klein, Capt. Melvin Gresham, and various watch commanders and Force Investigation detectives.

One person on the scene actually found a red minibike–Det. K. Goldberg. By the time he arrived, Rawlings had been transported to Children’s Hospital and the scene had been secured, the report states. Goldberg states that he began canvassing the neighborhood for evidence.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part 4: After The Shooting, A Mini Bike Is Found” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various headscratchers. You can read part one here, and part two here. Now comes this curious detail from Sgt. Ralph Wax.

On September 4, 2008, the D.C. Police Department cleared Haskel and Clay of wrongdoing in connection with the shooting death of Rawlings. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said that she was happy to have the officers back. But in the Post story linked above, it was reported that Clay had been reprimanded for an undisclosed infraction. Sgt. Wax’s deposition sheds some light on what that might have been. In his deposition, he stated that he cited both officers. And the citation was not for some small infraction.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part 3: Were The Officers Punished By The Department?” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

In this series, City Desk has set out to chronicle the case’s oddities and various head scratchers. You can read part one here. This next item is a real whopper.

On the day after the police shooting death of DeOnte Rawlings, D.C. Police Department Inspector Matthew Klein cleared both Haskel and Clay to return to full-duty status. The official was writing from his position inside the Office of Professional Responsibility. Both officers had given statements to police detectives but they had yet to give a walk-through of the scene. Officials hadn’t even tested Clay’s guns. Put it this way, Rawlings’ blood hadn’t been cleaned from the sidewalk and a high-ranking official was already clearing the two off-duty cops.

Klein writes in his letter on Haskel–the officer who shot and killed Rawlings:

“The Force Investigation Team initiated a preliminary review of this case in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office. Moreover, the Force Investigation Team has found no issues of concern regarding Officer Haskel’s role at this stage of the investigation that would preclude his return to full duty.

It is therefore been determined by the Office of Professional Responsiblity that Officer Haskel shall be placed in a Full-Duty Status, in accordance with the provisions set forth in General Order 901.11….”

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files Part II: D.C. Police Official Cleared Cops The Day After The Shooting” »

Maybe you are sick of hearing about the DeOnte Rawlings case. The 14-year-old was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on September 17, 2007. That’s a long time ago. By now, the off-duty cops have been cleared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Police Department. Law enforcement contends that Rawlings had fired on the officers—James Haskel and Anthony Clay—first and was riding Haskel’s stolen minibike. Officer Haskel only returned fire in self defense.

So what keeps this case from going away? We keep learning new problems with the police work on this case, and new holes in the narrative. Today we published a very long piece on the Rawlings shooting that’s simply taken from the depositions of those involved. In it you may find out things you didn’t already know. On City Desk, I will be presenting a series of documents and deposition testimony highlighting more screwups, questionable memos, and just sad little details. There’s a reason why this case won’t go away.

Kicking off this series, we have an exchange between Rawlings’ family’s attorney Gregory Lattimer and Sgt. Ralph Wax during Wax’s deposition taken last fall. Wax headed up the investigation into the shooting. Here he details what Rawlings had on him when he died and the confusion over exactly what color shirt he was wearing at the time. The shirt color would turn out to be crucial since the cops could only recall what Rawlings was wearing at the time. They couldn’t identify any of his physical features. Wax also notes that no gunshot residue was found on Rawlings’ clothing.

Read More “The DeOnte Rawlings Files: Part One” »

First up: Fresh stuff right here on this very Web site. Jason Cherkis has the cops, in their own words, explaining themselves for the DeOnte Rawlings shooting. Of special note: why they not only left the boy bleeding from the back of the head, but why they never even checked to see if he’s still alive. Stunning.

Tim Carman’s got even more on the eviction of celeb chef Spike Mendelsohn; Amanda Hess is wondering who can tell a rape joke; Ruth Samuelson finds a juicy condo conversion story peopled with phantom tenants; and Dave McKenna finds a guy to lay out in telling detail why DCPS is dysfunctional. LL Weekly to be pimped in forthcoming LL Daily.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, except when it comes to the Cleveland Park Cititizens Association. Marc Fisher today goes after George Idelson and Friends after old George, rather than welcome a bunch of people who don’t agree with him into ”his” neighborhood group—designed to “make your voice heard and help preserve and improve our neighborhood”—decided instead to postpone/cancel elections. Idelson’s a classic NIMBY, of course, who favors “preservation” above development, even if that development includes replacing a crappy grocery store with a noncrappy one. But what Fisher didn’t get into is just how quietly effective old George has been over the years. The battles being lost in Cleveland Park now are connected to the “overlay“—the complicated, esoteric formula that dictates how much property and which kind can be commercial. Idelson is its most vocal defender and has successfully fought off scrapping it and drastically changing it. As a result, Cosi fell victim. The Giant project has been stalled for more than 10 years. Empty storefronts at the Park and Shop remain that way. But if old George is forced to open up his fiefdom? Things could finally get interesting in CP.

Moving on to the fact that Virginians are not allowed to smile for their license photos anymore. But they are allowed stupid vanity plates? Oy vey.

More from the D.C. blogoworld:

Read More “Our Morning Roundup: Communism in Cleveland Park Edition” »

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?

This morning, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles appeared on WTOP’s Politics Program with Mark Plotkin to discuss a variety of matters.

Mark Segraves, who also questioned Nickles, already posted an item about Nickles’ strong statements on Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry. Asked if not paying your taxes should disqualify a person from public office, Nickles said his “personal view” is that it should.

But what really caught the ear of LL is statement Nickles made about the DeOnte Rawlings case. Asked by Segraves about the Fenty administration’s commitment to transparency, Nickles raised the subject of the Washington Post’s in-depth investigation of the Rawlings case published last Sunday.

That article, by Cheryl W. Thompson, he says, contained an illegal leak. Nickles says the article names an individual who provided grand jury testimony indicating that Rawlings shot first at officers James Haskel and Anthony Clay.

Read More “Nickles on WTOP: I Will Hunt Down Leaker” »

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?” »

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” »

On Sunday, David Simon published an op-ed in the Post railing against the Baltimore Police Department’s recent refusal to release the names of cops involved in shootings. (He also pissed on the press—MSM and “citizen bloggers”—for not challenging the department on its no-names policy.

Simon writes:

Read More “Simon Says Name The Cops Involved In Shootings. We Agree.” »

DeOnte Rawlings. David Kerstetter. Both cases of police-shooting deaths. Both cases where there are outstanding questions left unanswered. The D.C. Police Department, so far, has remained mum on some of those questions which City Desk eloquently wrote up this morning. We also have a detailed account of the Kerstetter shooting.

In the police department’s latest annual report (2007) on use-of-force investigations, its authors champion accountability in the very first graph:

“The Department is responsible and accountable to its members and to the citizens of this community for ensuring that appropriate use of force training is provided and member-applied force is both reasonable and within Department policy.”

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier gives a blurbed quote at the top of the report’s intro. She states: “The success of a police department is measured by the level of trust and confidence that the community has for it.”

The use of force numbers are also pretty interesting.

Read More “Putting the Kerstetter Shooting In Context” »

A belated kudos to the Washington Post editorial page, for nailing a thoroughly reported editorial-cum-investigative piece on the DeOnte Rawlings situation. Though we’ve already cited the piece in our fabulous Loose Lips Daily, a more complete breakdown is in order.

Rawlings, 14, was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on Sept. 17, 2007. Subsequent investigations by the U.S. attorney’s office and the police department have concluded that the officer, and another off-duty police official, broke no laws or departmental rules. They returned to their jobs.

The Post editorial concerns itself with the city’s handling of the case, a response characterized by secrecy; details of the investigations have not been released to the public. Here are some of the shocking-but-then-again-not-so-shocking revelations in the Post editorial:

—James Haskel, the officer who shot Rawlings, pursued the youth after he found a minibike missing from his garage. Haskel and another officer spotted Rawlings riding it and testify that Rawlings shot at them. So Haskel fired back, hitting Rawlings with a fatal shot to the head. Though the U.S. attorney’s office exonerated the officer, the Post points to some holes in the case: “No gun was ever found, the minibike went mysteriously missing and the officers, who at the time did not identify themselves as police, left the scene — issues that have never been adequately addressed.”

Read More “DeOnte Rawlings in Mid-Morning Blog Post” »