‘mischief – it’s how i roll’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’
The City Paper’s City Desk blog is reporting that during today’s snowball fight at 14th & U, some of the snowballers decided to target a maroon Hummer making its way down the street, only to have the driver get out, lose his shit, and start waving a gun around. Turns out, it’s a Metropolitan Police Department officer, possibly a detective. He didn’t identify himself before drawing his weapon, but did after additional police arrived, apparently summoned by a 911 call to report a man with a gun.
I can’t imagine why it is that police have such a problem with community relations, can you?
[Update from Don @ 5:45p] There’s some video of the crowd and the officers – the plainclothes who started the incident and the uni who showed up subsequently – here on WJLA’s website. Someone in the scene also has a video camera running so I’m sure this isn’t the last angle we’ll see on this. No coverage here of the initial alleged gun-waving but the way the plainclothes keeps walking up to get into the face of his accusers says something to me about his demeanor, and it’s not flattering.
Wonder if Chief Lanier will make a public statement condemning this behavior?
Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.
Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.
They need to take this pig’s badge. Great idea…plain clothes cop pulling a gun on U Street. Lucky nobody else was packing, or he’d have probably gotten shot, himself. MPD sucks.
This cop needs to spend a night in jail and a year behind a desk. Hell, if it were my police department, he’d be fired just for having a Hummer.
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A short video from few minutes before the cop in the Hummer got out and drew his gun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-q5UjjuOX0
Just a plain old snowball fight.
Bad cop. No donut.
A cop pulling a gun on a community, WHAT. Who trained this officer on weapons safety and what was he thinking drawing a deadly weapon on a group of TAX PAYING RESIDENTS! Will he be held accountable, well who knows. His behavior completely ignored public safety, after all that is his position, PUBLIC SAFETY!
This needs to be addressed IMMEDIATELY !
Not to excuse the cop’s actions but if someone hadn’t thrown the snowball at the Hummer in the first place, there wouldn’t have been an incident. I know some people in that neighborhood so I’m sure the snowballers prefer Prius over Hummer. I was driving today and the conditions are not good, getting your truck pelted with snow balls in busy snowed intersection would piss me off too.
http://tinyurl.com/ycy4wvy picture of plainclothes officer drawing gun after he gets out of his Hummer. Fail.
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As a taxpaying voting resident of the District of Columbia I expected my Top Cop to explain that the actions of the mob were in fact illegal and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Then explain that the entire incident would be thoroughly investigated, to include why the Third District officers tucked tail and left the scene when members of the mob refused to obey their lawful order to stop their illegal activity. Why the officials seen on the video did not take control of the situation upon their arrival. That the video would be used to identify and prosecute those observed throwing snowballs (missiles) and assaulting the detective. I expected her to also explain that the officer seen on the video telling the mob to continue with their illegal activity (which caused the confrontation with the detective) to continue was wrong. Law enforcement officials cannot concern themselves with making people mad when it comes to legally enforcing the law.
Chief Lanier needs to understand that leadership can’t be a popularity contest. Her reckless statement confirmed that she is ineffective and unable to confront the people who truly need to be confronted. Her actions single handedly damaged the credibility and reputation of the Metropolitan Police Department. The fact that she disgraced and humiliated her detective for doing what the members of the Third District should have done, instead of being a true leader and being honest with the mob, regardless of how bad it may have hurt their feelings, erased any respect/credibility that I, as a taxpaying resident, reasonably could have had for her. She literally did not hesitate to throw the detective to the wolves to appease the public. The true act of a coward not a leader.
Are Chief Lanier and Assistant Chief Newsham to dense to realize that had anyone been injured or property been damaged, whether they voluntarily participated in the illegal activity or not, the district would have been held liable once it was revealed that the police department was aware that the illegal activity was occurring and allowed it to continue. As a voting taxpayer, I’m tired of paying for expensive champagne and getting moonshine when it comes to the management of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This is good stuff, Taxpayer 26! Sieg Heil!
December 25th, 2009 at 7:54 am
(KR: SERIOUSLY? THIS IS HOW YOU SPENT YOUR WAKING HOURS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING?)
“As a taxpaying voting resident of the District of Columbia I expected my Top Cop to explain that the actions of the mob were in fact illegal and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Then explain that the entire incident would be thoroughly investigated, to include why the Third District officers tucked tail and left the scene when members of the mob refused to obey their lawful order to stop their illegal activity.”
I was no more than 40 feet from the detective throughout the incident. I had been taking photos of a joyful, harmless scene. I’m a 46 year-old, 8-year resident of the neighborhood for (age given because I’m no “kid”). And I’m a taxpayer, too (#27, perhaps?)
You’re just wrong on the facts. Moreover, anyone who would refer to that group as a “mob” is–to be polite–a bit over-zealous. Numerous police came by and did not attempt to end the “illegal” actions (it was a snowball fight). I even saw one grinning as he took photos from his passing car. The snow was very soft and it was difficult to make snowballs with it (no person was going to be injured and no car damaged). The snowballs would barely hold together.
The detective who felt the need to draw a weapon when all he had to do is show a badge is completely at fault here.
Thank God our police chief saw this…and does not think like you do.
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