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Posts Tagged ‘U.S. Park Police’

Marion Barry’s Mystery Woman Revealed: Loose Lips Daily

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Morning all. Late last night, we published a piece on the latest mystery woman in Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry's life: Sharon Bowen. Bowen, who resides in Ohio, received $50,000 in contract work from the legendary politico to work on poverty issues in Ward 8. Bowen, our sources say, was also Barry's girlfriend at the time (June 2007 to May 2008). For the piece, we detail her work and interview key players including Barry and Bowen's daughter. Meanwhile, the Hill Rag's The Nose examines Barry's legislative record and finds it lacking in accomplishments. The upshot: many of Barry's bills go nowhere and his priorities seem misplaced.

TREY JOYNER: The U.S. Park Police shooting of Trey Joyner on June 8 is getting a serious look by law enforcement authorities. On that Monday night, four park police cops in plainclothes moved in on Joyner as he was getting out of a car. When the officers tried to arrest him, allegedly a struggle ensued and he was gunned down. Witnesses at the time stated that Joyner was shot in the back and that the officers did not announce themselves. Now, WaPo is reporting that a federal grand jury is getting deep into the case and has subpoenaed an amateur video showing the chaos in Trinidad after the shooting. The WaPo scoop includes an interview with the filmmaker and has the man's video. Fox-5 finds Eleanor Holmes Norton is still fuming over whether or not the U.S. Attorney's Office should be leading the investigation into the shooting. If only all suspicious police shootings got this much attention.

HOMELESS FAMILIES: District officials plan to expand the number of beds for homeless families by 10 percent. But there's a catch: the extra beds will only be available in the winter. WaPo reports that means 75 more beds (WUSA also has the story). Key graphs:

"Nassim Moshiree, a lawyer with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said the officials who presented the plan seemed overconfident. 'This past spring, 88 families were living at the family shelter at D.C. General Hospital when the capacity was 75,' Moshiree said. 'Some had to stay in the cafeteria. They say they'll only need 75 beds there in the winter, when demand is high now. Where is their Plan B? They need a Plan B.'

Fred Swan, family services administrator for the Department of Human Services, said Moshiree voiced a common complaint. 'To a certain extent, we hear that every year,' Swan said. 'We'll make adjustments as needed.'

AFTER THE JUMP---Cathy Lanier dismisses the controversy over the "police" report in Fenty's car accident, Harry Jaffe continues to hammer away at the Pershing Park case, Fenty signs anti-crime bill, and much, much more.

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The Trey Joyner Shooting in Trinidad

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) has asked the U.S. Justice Department for clarification on the investigation into the fatal shooting by U.S. Park Police of Trey Joyner in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood on June 8.

Norton, after talking with Park Police Chief Salvatore Lauro, had been under the impression that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division would be leading an inquiry into the incident. She told residents as much at a community meeting last month at Mount Horeb Baptist Church.

"Last week, my staff was informed that the Civil Rights Division is not leading the investigation of the shooting, but that the U.S. Attorney's Office will be the agency leading this investigation," Norton wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder this week.

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Marion Barry Is the Tree, Says Former Girlfriend. “All of Us Are the Branches.”

Chenille Spencer, once a regular ladyfriend of Marion Barry's---and a regular with him at Player's Lounge---described her connection to Barry in 2006 as "loyal." She remains so. In a phone call to Washington City Paper to "speak on the the police and the way Mr. Barry was treated," Spencer defended her former flame and current friend.

"Mr. Barry is like a tree and all of us are the branches and leaves," she says. "I am just one of the apples that never fell off." Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, the woman at the center of the latest Barry scandal, "needs to know that she has to accept certain things. She will never be able to have a public dinner with him....She needs to accept the fact that Mr. Barry is loved by reverends, bishops, friends, me....You'll never have him all to yourself."

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Police Shooting of Trey Joyner Produces Divergent Stories

Yesterday, U.S. Park Police--as part of a task force--found themselves in the middle of a very strange fatal shooting. Within 24 hours, police and news accounts have begun to differ on how U.S. Park Police officers ended up firing on Trey Joyner. And now the Partnership for Civil Justice has filed a FOIA seeking answers.

The U.S. Park Police has one story. And a WJLA story with interviews from potential neighborhood witnesses has yet another version of events. Let's break it down.

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One Photog’s Perspective On Park Police Shooting

Yesterday, the U.S. Park Police were involved in a shooting of a District resident at 2nd and K Streets NE. The shooting took place in the early afternoon.

Davin Tarr was home working on his taxes. He was sitting on his couch in his 11th Floor apartment on Eye Street between 2nd and Third, he says, when he heard a pop, pop, pop.

And then Tarr heard another pop, pop, pop. "There were two bursts of them, pretty close together," he recalls.

This wasn't the normal city noises he was used to. Tarr decided to see what was going on outside his window.  According to the park police, Tarr apparently heard the officers fire on Ronald Hughes after he allegedly struck one of the officers with his car.

Hughes managed to drive off. Tarr was able to capture his failed escape.

Tarr grabbed his Nikon D300 and began snapping away at the scene below which he posted on Flickr. The photos have generated a fair amount of comments as they detail the standoff between Hughes and the Park Police.

Tarr's photo series shows Hughes attempting his getaway, sputtering into a wall and then driving down 2nd Street NE until a police cruiser boxes Hughes in. Hughes--who was injured in the shooting--is eventually dragged out of his car by his undershirt. "They were mostly trying to get his shirt off of him," Tarr says.

“At that point, he wasn’t putting up much resistance or anything," Tarr adds. "The cops were acting pretty professional in my layman’s opinion. They acted swiftly but carefully.”

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