The rooftop of the Pickwick Apartments building, located at 1754 S Street NW, is currently being treated to a personal visit by a couple of MPD officers, a roving helicopter, and a good dose of CAUTION tape. What's on the roof, officer? Oh, "just looking for a suspicious person," MPD told a tipster, who submitted the above photo of MPD making the climb. If you've seen one, let them know.

Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch has identified Ryan Randy Trotman as one of the victims of Monday night’s shooting on Quebec Place N.W. 

Trotman, 28, of the 7400 block of 7th Street, N.W., later died of his injuries. The name of the other victim, a woman who was shot in the leg, is being withheld because she witnessed the crime.

But a quick call the police didn't net anything new about whether the shooting and another incident a few blocks away the same night were part of a beef between rival gangs in the Petworth-Park View area.

“There are no updates” Officer Quintin Peterson in the police department’s Office of Public Affairs said this afternoon.

A controversy has been unleashed over, um, unleashed dogs.

It all started with a query about the Metropolitan Police Department's Second District arrest log, which certain elements in our fine city pour over, making sure no mugging, burglary or car theft goes unexamined. With all of those crimes unfolding daily, the questioner expressed a certain incredulity that police would bother locking up dog walkers. The said crime took place Jun. 8 on Idaho Avenue, N.W.

Read More "Dogfight in Upper Northwest" »

New York Avenue, 1998

Just a few minutes ago, I talked with Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, attorney and co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice, about the inauguration, security, and, and the Secret Service. She says that trained legal observers will be out and about for Tuesday's big events just in case the police start forgetting about your civil liberties. We advised you to seek them out if you have a problem on Tuesday.

"They'll be out around the route," Verheyden-Hilliard says of the legal observers. "They'll be out there monitoring the police action and the Secret Service action." She couldn't say how many observers will be volunteering for the inauguration detail. The plans are still be worked out.

But she's already noticed a little something about the inauguration windup. It isn't all hope. "I think it's very distressing that the Secret Service is making Washington so inhospitable for people." By people she means us and the out-of-towners who are coming because the event means so much to them. Instead, they get road closures, and bridge closings, and fortified security zones. We get gridlock.

"At the same time, the Secret Service seems to be bending over backwards to help the corporate law firms and lobbyists that have all the office buildings that line Pennsylvania Avenue to make sure their caterers and Hors d'œuvres get in," the lawyer notes.

Read More "Legal Observers To Monitor Inaugural Activities" »

Tonight I spoke briefly with Asst. Police Chief Diane Groomes, who offered a couple new details on this weekend's spate of shootings in Petworth.

First, good news for the man left in critical condition after the shooting Friday night on Marlboro Place.  Groomes reports that the victim—who was shot in the head—is showing signs of improvement.

"He's making a little progress—thanks goodness he's pulling through," Groomes said.  "We're hoping for a recovery."

As of this evening, no one is in custody.  And as for suspects, here's all Groomes could tell us:

"It was several black males who opened fire.  Some witnesses say there were two, some say there were three...some say there were six.  Right now we've got a general lookout."

Groomes was reluctant to speculate on a precise relation between the Marlboro attacks, the shootout on Crittenden, and the homicide on the 4500 block of Georgia Avenue.

"We will do a link analysis of all bullets and casings, and I can't say right now if there's a connection."

We're wondering why that link analysis still hasn't been done.  9mm shells were found on both scenes.

Read More "Assistant Chief Groomes on the Petworth Shootings" »

Bullets flew again tonight in Petworth.

Just after 7:45 p.m., an unspecified number of shooters opened fire on a row of houses in the 800 block of Crittenden Street NW, the MPD said.

Read More "Another Shooting: 8th and Crittenden Streets, NW" »

According to Traci Hughes, D.C. Police spokesperson, no one was arrested for overly celebrating last night.

Think about it: You were honking your horn, screaming Yes We Can, effectively closing down 14th and U Streets, jokingly referring to the First Dude as "The Second Dude," and getting hammered. How much would it suck to end up in the back of a police car?

I know that the police were out in force. But they essentially were just crowd control. And I'm not sure a drum circle is a violation of any law.