‘well-dressed mayor’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Earlier this month thieves stole two mountain bikes from the Crestwood home of Mayor Adrian Fenty, according to Bill Myers at the Washington Examiner. From police reports obtained by the Examiner, the bicycles were stolen from the Mayor’s garage, while his security detail was on duty. Fenty was not home at the time, but his wife Michelle was. The bikes are valued at around $300 each, so they are not the top of the line of Fenty’s bike collection.

Detectives are investigating, and according to Police Chief Cathy Lanier, one officer may face disciplinary charges for neglect. The entire incident, which took place on June 3, was captured on security cameras. From the MPD crime reports, it appears as though the incident was written up as a theft from the “alley” in the 4700 block of 17th St NW.  

It sounds as though the garage was open at the time, and the thieves dropped the bikes they were riding and rode off with the stolen ones. The thieves may have been unaware that it was the Mayor’s house, or found some comedy in the whole thing.

As expected, this incident has brought out the electioneering:

The [MPD] officers’ union leader, Kris Baumann, is livid. He said Fenty and Lanier have forbidden officers to patrol the Fenty property and are now looking for scapegoats.

“When you micromanage the police, they can’t be the police,” Baumann said. He added: “It’s time for this mayor and this chief to come to terms with crime in this city and to be honest with everyone about how much crime there actually is. And if the mayor’s home is not safe, how can anyone’s home be safe?”

No surprises there, given the union’s distaste for Fenty and their recent endorsement of Vincent Gray. I can only imagine the conversations Fenty had with Lanier following the theft. No word on if Fenty has contacted former Mayor Anthony Williams, known for his crime-fighting after leaving office, to help recover the bikes.

Dave Stroup

Dave has been following DC news and politics for nearly eight years and previous authored the blog “Why I Hate DC.” Dave tries to give a voice to those frustrated by the “politics as usual” in the area. By day he works in the technology department of a non-profit, by night he writes about news and politics and works at a local hardware store. Dave is also a contributor for Greater Greater Washington. You can follow him on Twitter or read his personal blog.