An alley in Near Northeast (NOT where the rape occurred).
I'm talking, of course, about last week's rape of a 33 year old woman at knife point. It happened in an alley, in front of her 3 year old daughter (who was restrained by a second man), during daylight hours (5:45pm). It happened after they stopped at the Checker's on Maryland to get some dinner. It happen near 13th & G (Linden Court). So far there seems to have been very little in terms of news coverage (read the story or watch the video from NBC4). He's the original email sent out by MPD Cmdr. Groomes (1-D):From: "Groomes, Diane (MPD)" diane.groomes@dc.gov
To: MPD-1D@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 5, 2007 10:25:10 AM
Subject: [MPD-1D] SEXUAL ASSAULT IN PSA 102/103 BORDER LAST NIGHT
AT APPROXIMATELY 2100 HOURS MPD RECEIVED A CALL FROM A FEMALE VICTIM REPORTING THAT SHE WAS INSIDE THE CHECKERS RESTAURANT WITH HER DAUGHTER WHEN SHE ENCOUNTERED TWO MEN IN THE LOBBY – SHE EXITED THE CHECKERS (14TH AND MD) AND WAS THEN FOLLOWED BY THE TWO MEN TO THE 1300 BLK OF G ST NE WHERE ONE SUSPECT – B/M, LATE 30S, 6’1” WITH BLK/GRY BEARD WITH HOODY SHIRT GRABBED HER INTO THE ALLEY AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER ( THE SECOND ASSAILANT WAS DESCRIBED AS B/M IN HIS TWENTIES WITH BLK BASEBALL CAP AND BLK JACKET ON)
ANYONE WITH ANY INFORMATION – PLS CALL 727-9099
Ignore the 2100 hrs thing, it doesn't appear to be correct since police were on the scene way before that time.
Pretty disgusting and sad for all of us, particularly the woman and her daughter (who do live in the neighborhood). Crimes like this (occurring suring daylight hours, taking place in front of the woman's daughter) are particularly disturbing. They get under your skin in a way that a simple shooting really can't. Because they make you wonder how any human can be so depraved, and then they make you wonder what someone like that was even doing down the street from your home.
After worrying about these questions for a while, we have to think about how we can minimize these things in the future. Alleys aren't exactly unsafe, but often they are a little more secluded than the street and that sometimes means that a certain type of people feel more comfortable committing crimes back there. I consider the alley where I live now to generally be better than when I lived on I Street. While the one on I Street wasn't a haven for prostitutes, it suffered from constant illegal dumping and was otherwise generally deserted except for the teens who would gather there to smoke a little pot. It was also very poorly lit at night. Where I live now we have a big wide alley that is generally cleaner than many alleys in Trinidad (though we've had our own trash problems recently), we have some streetlights (though at least one always seems to be burned out), we hold alley clean-ups, and many of us are in the alley a lot just talking or checking on things. Recently a neighbor of mine was hit in the head by a 2x4 that a large group of kids (maybe 12 years old) threw at him seemingly for fun. Other people have been held up at gun point, we have had multiple stolen cars dumped here (I ran into a group of kids doing just that on Thursday night), and last summer I chased two kids down the alley who were attempting to steal my housemate's scooter. So, I guess we have problems here too.
My question is what can we (the District government, the residents, the ANCs, the MPD, the H Street business community) do to help combat this kind of crime? How can we make our selves (and vistors to our neighborhood) safer?
13 comments:
Organize a phone tree, so that if you or your neighbors hear or see something, you can call each other for verification, a better view, and a another call to 911 or 311. It is also useful to have someone watching your back, if you do go out to check on something, or chase someone down again.
One of the first things residents can do is provide adequate lighting. So many houses on the Hill have no lights on out front, and their backyards and alleyways don't have motion sensor lights. That's a very inexpensive fix. If you are having problems in a particular alley, the neighbors can band together and each get motion sensor lights, positioned so that they light the alleyway up. This may not solve all your problems, but it usually helps a great deal. Criminals typically hate brightly lit areas.
It's funny how a story like this can wreck someone's weekend.
I'm devastated, dissapointed, angry, and sort of confused.
This incident is simply sick.
I can't believe the lack of news coverage, the lack of response...
A kid got shot in trinidad, and folks even had a march to protest the violence in the neighborhood.
What's going on here? NOTHING.
Did the victim have to have some longstanding roots within the neighborhood for folks to actually do or say something?
It's almost as if it was written off as newcomer that "got what she deserved."
I don't know the details, so I can only speculate.
This is unacceptable, and we should be outraged.
This needs to be the last unnecessary act of violence that ever happens.
The perps need to be prosecuted, made an example of, and this needs to be stopped.
If I were a leader, I'd do something within the community to stop this.
I'm not a leader.
Can't someone do something?
I'm so pissed off.
I'm angry.
I'm sad.
I want to do something.
Rape is pretty much disregarded as a crime.funny that you said new comer... I assumed that it was a young afro-american woman, because this stuff happens to them all of the time and nothing is done.
I actually was wondering the same thing.
Newcomer, Latino, Black American...
Whatever. It's unacceptable.
Could have been anyone.
I sort of just assumed that rape is a crime of violence, in the sense that males assert their dominance over a person (could be male or female) in order to assert their locus of control.
In our neighborhood, it's very much a class/race issue.
Again, I don't know the details, but it's extremely unnerving and something needs to be done.
Two notes:
1. the shooting refered to above was, I think, one of a series that occurred in Carver and Langston (NOT in Trinidad, but east of here).
2. I don't know the race of the victim. But most sexual offenses are committed against someone of the same race as the offendor (so I've been assuming that she is probably black).
Concealed Carry.
Given the cost and the delays with the cameras the city orders I think another approach could be tried.
A closed circuit camera system hooked to a DVR (my neighbor actually has one of these systems) costs a couple thousand dollars, maybe even less. The city would probably benefit if it gave a tax credit to each household that bought one of these systems. Or there could be a grant...the city buys it or puts a thousand bucks towards it in return for access to the footage if a crime happens.
Well, Rob, I think your advice is going to be a lot more effective than depending on the police to keep the streets and alleys safe. The fact that this occured in broad daylight shows just how brazen creeps and thugs are around here -- and how seriously they take the police.
The shooting incident at Lincoln Park last night is yet another example of how audacious the thugs have become. I think people are going to have to start taking the situation into their own hands. Perhaps if the gun ban is overturned, at least they will be able to defend themselves.
Part of me says that crime like this happens everywhere. There was a serial rapist in Dunn Loring which is a very safe area.
That said, I don't think that the alleys are all that safe. Particularly since the guys followed her from the fast food restaurant. If you are being followed, the thing to do is stay in a heavily traveled street.
I think that the police need to hunt these guys down since by their actions, they have shown that they aren't fit to be in society.
Sadly enough, I think that Rob's idea is the only way that we'll ever get some safety in the alleys.
Since we are speculating, I think that the victim was a local as well. The police haven't said one way or another and it really doesn't matter.
I like the ideas of more light (isn't that what the "Light the Night" program is about?) and phone trees, too. Basically neighbors getting together and taking action on their own. I was out of town for a while recently but now that I'm back around I want to contact my ANC rep and see about getting this kind of organization mobilized. That way we can go to the PSA meeting and say, "Here's what we're doing, what's the next step?"
"Perhaps if the gun ban is overturned, at least they will be able to defend themselves."
Sorry, but even if it is upheld, the Parker case only addressed the 'keep' part of the equation. To 'bear' arms outside of ones home will still be verboten for all but the politically connected/ privileged classes. Remember: DC law protects the criminals, not the law abiding. The human right of effective self defense is denied you here. Where do you think you are, a Red state?
Community concerns about this and other issues also can be discussed during the regularly scheduled monthly Police Service Area (PSA) 102 meeting Tuesday, April 10, 7-8:30 p.m. at Sherwood Rec Center. Converse with MPD officers responsible for patroling the neighborhoods.
The PSA 102 boundaries are (clockwise) the railroad tracks at Union Station, Florida Ave NE, Maryland Ave NE, 9th St, East Capitol St, 2nd St, Massachusetts Ave, and Columbus Circle. See the MPD website and map to determine your PSA.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PSA 102, photos, crime maps and more go to
http://psa102.blogspot.com.
QUESTIONS? Contact:
David Klavitter
Volunteer PSA 102 Citizen Coordinator
202-547-5745
klav@questforquiet.org
Lt. Barbara Hawkins
Metropolitan Police Dept.
202-698-0380
barbaram.hawkins@dc.gov
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