Except if they don't reimburse you for those expenses. That's exactly what happened, and now Ogilvy is suing to get paid back for the $143,000 it spent on the District's behalf. Some thankyou!

According to the complaint, exactly a year ago, DCPS approached Ogilvy proposing that the firm design an ad campaign to attract new teachers, and place the ads online and in local publications like the Washington Post Express. A contract was signed, Ogilvy did the work, and with explicit approvals from DCPS officials, cut checks so the ads could run.

By the summer, it was time for Ogilvy to get its money back. But the Office of Contracting and Procurement refused to pay, saying it wasn't a legal contract. So now Ogilvy's out $143,000, and hoping a judge will force the District to fork it over. And you can bet they probably won't be doing any more free work for the District in the future.

The alleged mastermind of a mass shooting is, for reasons unrelated to the carnage, being sued by a car insurance company. The State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company wants $40,000 from Orlando Carter.

Prosecutors believe that Carter, allegedly a small-time drug dealer who operated in the Washington Highlands area, and three of his buddies attacked a throng of mourners on March 30, 2010. The mourners were gathered in front of 4022 South Capitol Street SE after a funeral. Donning ninja masks, the men cut the crowd down with gunfire, court documents say.

They're accused of killing four and wounding six that night. Authorities believe Carter organized the ambush in retaliation for an attempt on his life made about a week earlier. It's still not clear whether anyone in the crowd knew anything about the attempt. After allegedly mowing their victims down, Carter and his cohorts are said to have rolled away in a rented minivan. They were spotted by police. Carter, who was driving, took off, bringing on a high speed chase.

According to lawyer Thomas Mauro, that wasn't the first time Carter tried to outrun the law in a vehicle. In an earlier and separate incident, he says, Carter accelerated onto the 2200 block of Southern Avenue SE as he tried to flee police on Nov. 19, 2007. Court records say that as Carter hurtled away from his pursuers, a woman in a Toyota Camry sat waiting for a traffic light to change. Carter's vehicle lost control and slammed into hers. "Insured suffered significant bodily harm and incurred medical expenses and incurred property damages to her vehicle, thus requiring repair costs," the complaint by the insurance company says.

The driver was a customer of State Farm Insurance. The company paid her medical and repair bills, which amounted to $40,000, but now wants to recoup the money from Carter. The accident was a result of "defendant's recklessness and negligence," say the court filings. Court records don't show a related criminal case. Mauro’s process server has been looking for Carter on and off since November, but hasn't been able to locate him.

That's undoubtedly because he hasn't been looking at the D.C. jail, where Carter has been held without bail since April. Mauro says up until now, he had no idea the guy he was trying to take to court had been accused of concocting the March bloodbath. Carter's lawyer couldn't immediately be reached.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

They wanted the D.C. Police to cough up their operational procedures and general orders. In other words, just the rules on how the police are supposed to govern themselves, and utilize their authority with the general public. The complaint stated:

“Public disclosure of the operational policies and practices, orders and staff instructions of the police department is essential for policing in a democratic society and to establish accountability….The D.C. FOIA mandates that the MPD specifically make public and make available upon demand its policies, procedures, manuals and staff instructions….Additionally the MPD is required to publish a general index of all such records unless the materials are promptly published and copies offered for sale.”

Today, the Partnership announced that the D.C. Police Department has finally complied with the FOIA.

The Partnership had filed its lawsuit in early February. That's months of stonewalling. Anyway, now you can read the department's general orders and operational directives for yourself.

The Partnership has put the documents online. It's an invaluable resource that will help the public better understand how the police operate. And that's a good thing.

3:35 p.m. Update: City Desk reached Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder and attorney with the Partnership.

"It's finally time that they begin to come into compliance. They are not in compliance because we don't have everything yet." She adds that the D.C. Police Department should post all its regs on its own website.