Our Nation’s Capital
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
So, as I sat doing my morning work it occurred to me that things are a bit… ah… off in our nation’s capital city: Washington DC.
It would seem to me that our capital should be the ONE place that EVERY law is not only just consistent with the Constitution, but is ground breaking; trend setting; progressive. In other words, it shouldn’t just be another city but should be the MODEL city for all other U.S. cities to try to follow. However…
Washington DC is rarely (if ever) in the news for some trend-setting action or program. Instead, it seems like the city is most often in the news for something controversial that the city government or police department is doing. Let’s look back at the past year:
1) DC vs. Heller: an 2nd Amendment case taken all the way to the Supreme Court. For decades DC has prohibited residents from owning handguns and from possessing functional firearms. If you owned a shotgun, it had to be kept disassembled EVEN IN YOUR OWN HOME if that home was in DC. Once this law was tested, DC’s own courts said it was unconstitutional. From everything I read there is the same expectation from the Supreme Court. POSSIBLY this will be the case where the Supreme Court will clearly state that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right and not a group right. Still, staying on topic, why would the government of our nation’s capital city intentionally and for decades pass a law that is unconstitutional? I know, I know. Someone somwhere reading this is saying, “But it’s not unconstitutional until the Supreme Court says so.” I have to throw the BS flag on that statement. It’s unconstitutional from the day it’s enacted into law. It’s just not corrected until someone fights against it up to the Supreme Court. Now, on the other hand, there is an argument put forth by many in favor of gun control. That argument being that a complete absence of firearm possession, with the exception of military and law enforcement, will HAVE to reduce gun crimes.
2) The recent program where DC’s police cordoned off a certain community within the city and prohibited FREE CITIZENS from entering that community unless the FREE CITIZEN could prove a good reason why they were trying to go in or through there. Isn’t this America? Isn’t freedom of travel one of our most carefully protected rights? How can ANY government agent refuse me passage on a public roadway UNLESS they can prove an immediate threat, crime scene existance, etc.? I’m an AMERICAN CITIZEN. I CAN WALK DOWN ANY DAMNED SIDEWALK I WANT. If it’s risky then the most DC’s police should be able to legally do is WARN ME and then let me make my FREE CHOICE. Of course, The DC government DOES have a responsibility to provide as much public safety and protection as they can within the law. As a cop I know that those cameras are of high value, but I think we all have a duty to make sure we perform our jobs while protecting those liberties our Founding Fathers tried their best to guarantee us.
3) Just this morning (June 17th, ‘08) there’s a news article about DC setting up thousands of cameras to monitor public places, all being fed into and monitored by a central hub manned by police and other city employees. A number of DC GOVT employees have questioned the violation of privacy that these cameras may represent but DC’s govt is defending them by comparing the camera system to that of LONDON. Wait… didn’t we come to this continent and throw off the oppression of the English government because we wanted to be free? Why then would ANY city in this country try to be more like a city in England? Now I understand that other big cities all over our country are using such camera systems and they are of obvious high value. My point is that HOW the cameras are used and what the ultimate goals are should be in line with our country’s values.
I have a suggestion for the leadership of the DC Government and anyone who agrees with them: MOVE TO ENGLAND. It’s not about what they’re doing, but more about how they justify their actions.
1) (related to the numbered items above): You can’t own a gun in England. Just like in DC this law has proven completely unsuccessful in reducing gun violence. In fact, it was just yesterday reported that England’s gun crimes have spiked over 400% since they enacted the laws prohibiting citizens from owning or possessing guns. Knife crimes are up too.
2) You’d be delighted to know that there are chunks of London and other cities where you can’t go simply because the city leadership or the English govt doesn’t want you to. Freedom of movement? Get over it. Your a subject; not a citizen. It is a monarchy after all; the one we escaped from at that.
3) London has over 10,000 cameras that track your movements in public, constantly watching you and monitoring what you do. Don’t do anything that even remotely LOOKS suspicious or you may have your freedom of movement further hindered as the bobbies investigate why you had the audacity to look like anything but a submissive sheep in public.
Folks, we live in the United States of America. Our nation’s capital is Washington DC. How we got to the point where it was one of the most socialist cities in our country is beyond me. Why it has its own government for that matter is beyond me. Virginia was smart to take its piece of land back and that chunk of land is doing FAR better in every measurable way when compared to the piece Maryland gave on the other side of the Potomac river.
I KNOW I’m an extreme right winger. I KNOW that I am narrow minded and opinionated.
But from my narrow minded, opinionated, right wing extremist point of view, NO ONE should live in DC except those who work for the federal government. Embassies for foreign countries should be located there. National institutions such as the museums and zoo should be there. THE REST SHOULD BE PARK LAND. The entire piece of geography should be owned and operated by the federal government. It should NOT be an incorporated municipality. Just like members of the military service, those federal employees who live there should maintain their permanent residence in their home state and THAT is where they should vote. “Taxation without representation” should be a non issue because there should be NO DC residents. Hell, even the President and the Vice-President have their own homes elsewhere.
As an American Citizen I am disgusted by the state of our Nation’s capital city.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
I couldn’t agree more. The scary thing is this. The libs won’t be happy until the entire county is as socialist as DC is. These are indeed solemn times.
You’re right on target. Hopefully DC will be reined in before the left coast decides to follow suit. A lot of LE trends start out there, some good, but this wouldn’t be one of them. I would not, in good conscience, be able to police under such a regime. It isn’t right….
Robin, J Goodrich: Thanks for the agreeing comments. It reassures me that I’m NOT just losing my mind.
Waiting for the “other opinion” to chime in. I know there are folks out there who disagree with me. Please speak up and voice your opinion as well.
I totally agree also. I am a resident of Maryland and a Federal employee. I have a really interesting story related to the socialist DC Government. While searching for an address on the Maryland/DC border a year and a half ago, I was profiled by the MPD for no reason, no speeding, tags properly registered, etc. MPD searched my vehicle without my permission and discovered my legal MD firearm in my vehicle, for which I had a concealed weapon permit. That night I was arrested and the police seized my vehicle. The vehicle in question is a 2006 Infiniti M35x, I guess black males in such a vehicle is suspicious activity in DC. Well, the judge in the criminal trial fined me $100 for an unregistered firearm (the felony charge for Carrying a Pistol without a license (CPWL) was dismissed), because he had to I guess. However, the DC OAG is moving forward to civilly forfeit my vehicle (they want to keep it and sell it). As a law student with no prior criminal record, I find it disgusting that even with the Court of Appeals repealing the gun ban, that they wouldn’t be sensitive to such an awkward circumstance. Well, I guess the District will listen when they are hit with an exorbitant award from the jury on my counter-claims that the residents will end up subsidizing through the high taxes they pay and camera ticket revenue.
MPDC is in a total crisis right now. Chief Lanier is an embarrassment to all the officers who go out and try to do this job the right way. Our command staff is full of arrogant incompetents. They have no idea how to run a PD and reduce crime. So we get reclassified offense reports, disappearing reports, and moronic public relations gimmicks. Of course there were no shootings while the roadblocks were in place. There wouldnt have been any shootings if one officer was there with his overhead lights flashing. But these are not answers to our crime problem. We police by reaction in DC. After something bad happens we come in with stationary posts and floodlights for a couple of days. They assign a few officers to carry a cellphone during their shift. Any citizen who complains enough will be given the number. No more 911, just call in your minor complaints directly to an officer. It is embarrassing how inept and cowardly our “leaders” are.
This is the police dept that our command staff wanted. Officers do almost no proactive work and just wait for radio runs. We got there in a short period of time thanks to Ramsey. Mindless and excessive discipline, unjustified terminations and of course the handing over of the dept to the Justice Dept. Why would an officer go out and aggressively police? They wanted officers
who dont get complaints and never create paperwork. Now they have that and they cant deal with the increased crime. But aggresive proactive policing will result in complaints and there will have to be investigations. Now they tell us to go police hard. But they dont have the credibility when they say they will look out for us. When “aggresive handcuffing” results in officers demanding grand jury declination letters prior to making a statement the whole system is a failure.
Add into all this the city offering the officers a 7 year contract with no raises and drastic reductions in benefits and union rights, along with several terms that would gut the union. Things have gotten so bad that the dept is using traffic roadblocks to try to increase the arrest numbers.
Prepare for much more stupidity from Fenty and Lanier in the future. Crime only goes up in the summer.
Thank you so much for the great words — and the righteous BS call.
Thank you for every day of your service too. All of you who serve on your honor.
Sir Robert Peel’s 7th principle: “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give
full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”
The nine principles by Sir Robert Peel
http://www.magnacartaplus.org/briefings/nine_police_principles.htm#nine_principles
I couldn’t agree with you more. I live in MD just outside DC and commute to the city every morning. we wouldn’t have the amount of crime in the city if the city were organized correctly (as in your article). I love reading your pieces. I just wish more people could use the common sense that so very few of us seem to possess. Great article.
James, you made me laugh. One of my favorite quotes is: “The problem with common sense is that it’s uncommon.”
I hear a lot of complaints that DC residents have no representation. I wonder why residents are allowed. The Feds should use their eminent domain and buy up all the land. The expel everyone except Congress-critters, foreign diplomats and the President. Since the elected officials will be residents of their home states, as will the President (and the foreigners don’t count) - problem solved. There will be no DC residents, no representation problem, and no crime problem.
Frank, I know you are waiting for the “other opinion” to chime in, so… As a “Staunch-but-tilting-slightly-left-Moderate, pro 2A, Law-and-Order favoring, fiscally conservative/socially liberal (see prior listed exceptions, please), Civil Libertarian” I have to say…
You are completely correct, sir. Cannot disagree with you. Sorry. I don’t think you’ll get much debate on this one.
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At what point will we as police officers have to protect the citizens from our own government. Most non-administrative police officers know and believe in the Constitution. However it is the administrative/political police officers that make these horrible decisions that affect us all. At some point officers will have to refuse to enforce administrative policies that are obviously not constitutional. This is where the police unions need to step up and legislation passed that actually protect the police officer.
Chief Lanier doesn’t seem to feel that her agency is doing anything wrong. It would seem to me that if this “program” is legally tried in court and found to be unconstitutional, the Chief should be held responsible in some way:
http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=41859
I am an officer with MPDC. I work in the “Trinidad” neighborhood where the roadblocks were out in place and there are a couple cameras up. The crime in this neighborhood hasn’t changed in years, these measures are nothing but a publicity stunt to please certain citizens and the DC city council. The drug dealers all know where the cameras are and just sell around the corner. Since the cameras have gone up I havnt seen any improvements. The roadblocks to the neighborhood had negative results no guns were recovered and no leads were obtained into possible shooting suspects. The bad guys knew we were there and all they had to do is walk into the neighborhood with there guns. The problem in DC starts with the court system, they need to be more like Virginia and criminals will think twice about carrying gun knowing that in Virginia they will get some time rather than probation which is what they get in DC. But what do you expect in the city when the mayor paid for the funeral of a young juvenile who shot at off duty officers striking there vehicle and they returned fire killing the suspect. What kind of message does that send to the officers when the mayor pulls a publicity stunt like this and doesn’t back his police department!
I’m agreeing with the post also.
Every year when I go for Police Week I marvel at what a beautiful showcase city Washington…could be.
But it isn’t. Far from it. What should be a sacred place, a shrine to the ideals of the republic, is a sad place where “its for your own good” is accepted as a reason to limit the rights of citizens. It’s a place where a wrong turn can land you in an area which puts you at risk. Liberal judiciary turns criminals out to prey again. And the DC cops are just beat down, and not by the challenge of crime fighting.
There is open hostility towards MPDC from DC government, shown by appeasement of every squeaky wheel – er, ah, community leader or ‘reverend’ – who can get face time on the ever-obliging anti-police media.
[Side note for illustration: Check the postings to Tim Dees’ blog after the 07 police week about the “scandalous’ behavior caught on tape by the media…3 old guys with beers. A bagpiper. Improperly parked cars. Ohhh, the shame of it all….]
The former chief from the outside was a disaster. The buddy Ramsey brought with him from the Chicago PD days actually broke with him and went to the Capitol Police. DC has no morale problem…you first have to have some morale for it to be a problem. And now they are being asked to do some PR to shore up the image of the city, but you might as well put ear rings on a pig and call it “Princess”
Roadblocks? Outrageous. What was being drunk and/or smoked at THAT meeting? Its publicity driven; constitutionally questionable, and ineffective. Sort of like the state of “crime emergency” Chief Ramsey declared some years back.
As with many big cities, the PD is being asked to ‘be aggressive’… but. But don’t draw any beefs, or citizen complaints or bad pub, because we will throw you to the wolves regardless of the validity of the complaint.
Saturation, with stops made in adherence to Terry vs. Ohio, or just plain old probable cause might make sense. Setting up roadblocks and watching the Bad Guys just walk by laughing is an embarrassment. I hope the City of Washington has laid in a nice fat bank account to settle the lawsuits – lawsuits a first year intern from the ACLU could win.
It is being reported this morning that a civil liberties group has now filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia on behalf of four citizens stopped in their program near the Trinidad neighborhood.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1451807~Group_files_lawsuit_against_DC_vehicle_checkpoints.html
I’m surprised it’s only four people. But I’m not surprised the DC Police Department’s defense is, “But our legal team (and courts) said it was okay.” It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
I’m surprised it’s only four people. But I’m not surprised the DC Police Department’s defense is, “But our legal team (and courts) said it was okay.” It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
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I think we know. And reading the DC Chief’s weak defense, I think she does too.
You have to wonder where this “bright idea” came from….