Seriously!!! How is it possible that someone can just "roll away" before the police arrive?! This is crazy. BUT don't worry folks. We're in safe hands because the whichever office this eventually goes to for prosecution will certainly paper this case. Yeah right.
I'd go with Joe Englert on that one. There are plenty of false wheelchair users around here. I wonder if this was connected with the recent sawed-off shotgun robbery off Bladensburg. That one included a large group and a kid in a wheelchair.
I doubt it was a delay in police response. I called 911 Thurs night for a shooting near my house and the police were on site immediately. I had just hung up the phone. Was amazing. They then came out the next day to continue searching, recovered the shells and are processing for prints.
You are almost certainly right. The worst thing, though, is how can the cops have NO clue who these guys are?? Can you get a more easily recognizable description than a large group of teens with one in a wheel chair?? If these guys are brazenly rolling around (pun intended) at 1:00pm on a freakin' Monday with a weapon on the busiest street in the area and the cops STILL can't find them, well, what the hell good are they??
Yet another case of inefficient management of a metropolitan police force. They and especially those who manage the force are locked into the mentality that a police force falls into the category of "first responder" like a firefighter or EMT. Driving around in a patrol car is no substitute for physically walking a beat and postively engaging the residents of a neighborhood. If you don't know who's supposed to be there and NOT committing crimes, it's a good bet you won't be able to determine who IS committing crimes. The police in this city need to get out of their cars, take off the wanna-be SWAT team tactical gear, walk the neighborhoods at ALL HOURS in a way that ensures maximum presence and INTERACT WITH THE POPULATION in a POSITIVE MANNER. Plain and simple. Gripes about how difficult a job it is are moot - Soldiers and Marines have managed to do more with less in harsher conditions for going on eight years now and have figured out how to be "beat cops" better than our own police. Additionally, the Council needs to stop buying $5000 Segways, it's a waste of money and it looks ridiculous. If they can't ride a bike or walk a beat THEY SHOULDN'T BE COPS.
Kudos to Anon 9:46! Right on target! Does anyone know if any of our local elected officials are engated in the current crime spree? Joe, Tommy, Kwame, Mike, David Phil... where are you? I have a feeling that this sort of crime would be HUGE if it happened in Northwest.
My comment in regards to how Segways look was frivolous, yes, but the fact of the matter is that it is outrageous for the Council to spend money on something that could be easily substituted for a bicycle (I realize the "top of the line" models are expensive in their own) that would at least require officers to keep themselves in top physical condition. I would accept the Segway in special cases for officers who were injured in the line of duty that wanted to stay on the force and were unable to conduct patrols on foot or on a bicycle, and even for the bomb squad (the Army's EOD uses them to great effect and for obvious reasons of mobility, flexibilty and safety) but not to the extent they are being used. The fact that they cost upwards of $5000 is bad enough without factoring in the additional exponential costs of maintenance and replacement, not to mention loss or theft (though perhaps the thought is the type of criminal that normally might steal a bike would be less inclined to take a Segway - not exactly a hot black market item to be stripped and sold at the Florida Avenue swap meet). It is just another example of the continued mismanagement of our police force.
Haven't seen him this year, but the officer that patroled our neighborhood in PSA 103 was very effective on his segway. He was very effective, he was quicker, quieter and he actually would stop and interact with the community. These are the usual reasons that we don't have him around any more. When officers are good,and getto know the neighborhood, they are transferred.
I realize the "top of the line" [bike] models are expensive in their own...
You could by 5-6 quality mountain bikes for what you pay for a Segway. Plus the police officers would be getting some exercise, which would make them happier and less stressed.
for the price of a Segway you could track down the Wheelchair Killer on a Friday, and on the following Sunday, give Julien Absalon a run for the money on the World Cup XC circuit on this ridiculous contraption.
It makes sense that a good cop would get transferred - given that based on the way this police force operates they percieve a lack of arrests means they haven't been doing their job... PREVENTING CRIME, er - I mean reacting to crime that's already occured.
Thanks for the links! I was just guessing about top of the line models being just as expensive... I haven't owned a bike in years so I didn't even know (just wanted to avoid being told good bikes are just as expensive). I just looked up that Segways have actually been banned in many places with the justification that they've never been approved for medical uses - so I can scratch that "exception" out of the argument too.
I've personally witnessed a guy roll his wheelchair into an alley on the West End of H, stand up, check his chair out then sit back down and roll out onto the street.
It's certainly not a blanket statement about all people in wheelchairs on H, but rather a confirmation that this scam happens.
I saw the same thing. I saw a group of young boys (ages 14 - 16 possibly) all taking turns getting in and out and riding in a wheel chair. I can't remember where though
Which brings to mind ANOTHER huge issue in the general neighborhood (and elsewhere) - complete lack of parental responsibility. Constantly I see kids running wild in the area, with no regard for authority, private property, or any sense of control. I can admit to my fair amount of stupid stuff done as a kid and even as a teenager, but it was either done in my own yard or in abandoned lots, et cetera, whereas here it seems like they feel they have no worries whatsoever as far as repercussions for their behavior.
Specifically for me, there are a group of 3 to 5 kids (perhaps more) in and around my block that can't be more than 15 years old that are constantly up to no good in our alleyway - and I don't mean just your run of the mill "get off my lawn" type of activity. At one point they were discharging dry powder fire extinguishers at each other and around the area of multiple back yards to the extend that I assumed there was a fire of some sort. I wondered where they might have aquired them until I witnessed several kids (perhaps the same?) being arrested for apparently breaking into their soon-to-be opened school - no doubt intent on theft and vandalism.
Arresting them obviously isn't a deterrent (go figure - considering the state of our esteemed, efficient and well managed police force) but more importantly why are there so many parents that are completely unconcerned with disciplining their children and teaching them some basic concepts of respect for property and their community.
On the MPD-1D mailing list, Cmdr. Kamperin has said that they don't believe that this guy-in-a-wheelchair is the same guy-in-a-wheelchair involved in the robbery of the Capitol City Diner folks.
Yesterday, while the helicopters were circling above, my neighbor looked out his back window and saw a man in a wheelchair trying to hide in my neighbor's backyard (we live two blocks from where this happened). In fact, this man in the wheelchair asked my neighbor's next-door neighbor to help him down into the basement stairwell (b/c he couldn't get down there on his own due to his disability) to hide because people were "looking for him." My neighbor called 911, and the man rolled away before police came. Anyway ... chances are, this is the same guy - and the wheelchair seems to be legit.
Why are there so many parents that are completely unconcerned with disciplining their children and teaching them some basic concepts of respect for property and their community.
Do you have a few minutes? ;)
Seriously though, when we were that age, I seem to remember part of the curb on violent behavior was that, if we acted like violent assholes towards grown-ups, there was always the threat--real or imagined--that some adult was going to beat the unholy living shit out of us.
Given that nowadays, you have thirteen year olds swinging water-filled gallon milk cartons at passing cyclists, etc... that doesn't seem operative any longer.
24 comments:
Only in DC could someone escape in a wheelchair before the police could get there.
Seriously!!! How is it possible that someone can just "roll away" before the police arrive?! This is crazy. BUT don't worry folks. We're in safe hands because the whichever office this eventually goes to for prosecution will certainly paper this case. Yeah right.
I'd like to assume the delay was in the reporting/notification and not in the response.
Ahhh, I like assuming...
Joe Englert said:
I think the wheelchair is used as a ruse and the shooter might not really be confined to it.
It seems like it is a large group with this man and they lull people into a false sense of security before striking.
Thanks
I'd go with Joe Englert on that one. There are plenty of false wheelchair users around here. I wonder if this was connected with the recent sawed-off shotgun robbery off Bladensburg. That one included a large group and a kid in a wheelchair.
I doubt it was a delay in police response. I called 911 Thurs night for a shooting near my house and the police were on site immediately. I had just hung up the phone. Was amazing. They then came out the next day to continue searching, recovered the shells and are processing for prints.
Russ
I'll bet a milkshake this is the same wheelchair guy who mugged the Capitol City Diner guys at shotgunpoint.
Monkey,
You are almost certainly right. The worst thing, though, is how can the cops have NO clue who these guys are?? Can you get a more easily recognizable description than a large group of teens with one in a wheel chair?? If these guys are brazenly rolling around (pun intended) at 1:00pm on a freakin' Monday with a weapon on the busiest street in the area and the cops STILL can't find them, well, what the hell good are they??
There is a brief article in The Washington Post as well.
Yet another case of inefficient management of a metropolitan police force. They and especially those who manage the force are locked into the mentality that a police force falls into the category of "first responder" like a firefighter or EMT. Driving around in a patrol car is no substitute for physically walking a beat and postively engaging the residents of a neighborhood. If you don't know who's supposed to be there and NOT committing crimes, it's a good bet you won't be able to determine who IS committing crimes.
The police in this city need to get out of their cars, take off the wanna-be SWAT team tactical gear, walk the neighborhoods at ALL HOURS in a way that ensures maximum presence and INTERACT WITH THE POPULATION in a POSITIVE MANNER. Plain and simple. Gripes about how difficult a job it is are moot - Soldiers and Marines have managed to do more with less in harsher conditions for going on eight years now and have figured out how to be "beat cops" better than our own police.
Additionally, the Council needs to stop buying $5000 Segways, it's a waste of money and it looks ridiculous. If they can't ride a bike or walk a beat THEY SHOULDN'T BE COPS.
I disagree. The seguays allow them to cover much more ground than they would walking, and cycling And really, who cares how they look?
Kudos to Anon 9:46! Right on target! Does anyone know if any of our local elected officials are engated in the current crime spree? Joe, Tommy, Kwame, Mike, David Phil... where are you? I have a feeling that this sort of crime would be HUGE if it happened in Northwest.
My comment in regards to how Segways look was frivolous, yes, but the fact of the matter is that it is outrageous for the Council to spend money on something that could be easily substituted for a bicycle (I realize the "top of the line" models are expensive in their own) that would at least require officers to keep themselves in top physical condition. I would accept the Segway in special cases for officers who were injured in the line of duty that wanted to stay on the force and were unable to conduct patrols on foot or on a bicycle, and even for the bomb squad (the Army's EOD uses them to great effect and for obvious reasons of mobility, flexibilty and safety) but not to the extent they are being used.
The fact that they cost upwards of $5000 is bad enough without factoring in the additional exponential costs of maintenance and replacement, not to mention loss or theft (though perhaps the thought is the type of criminal that normally might steal a bike would be less inclined to take a Segway - not exactly a hot black market item to be stripped and sold at the Florida Avenue swap meet).
It is just another example of the continued mismanagement of our police force.
Haven't seen him this year, but the officer that patroled our neighborhood in PSA 103 was very effective on his segway. He was very effective, he was quicker, quieter and he actually would stop and interact with the community. These are the usual reasons that we don't have him around any more. When officers are good,and getto know the neighborhood, they are transferred.
I realize the "top of the line" [bike] models are expensive in their own...
You could by 5-6 quality mountain bikes for what you pay for a Segway. Plus the police officers would be getting some exercise, which would make them happier and less stressed.
This is what you get for $1k.
for the price of a Segway you could track down the Wheelchair Killer on a Friday, and on the following Sunday, give Julien Absalon a run for the money on the World Cup XC circuit on this ridiculous contraption.
It makes sense that a good cop would get transferred - given that based on the way this police force operates they percieve a lack of arrests means they haven't been doing their job... PREVENTING CRIME, er - I mean reacting to crime that's already occured.
Thanks for the links! I was just guessing about top of the line models being just as expensive... I haven't owned a bike in years so I didn't even know (just wanted to avoid being told good bikes are just as expensive). I just looked up that Segways have actually been banned in many places with the justification that they've never been approved for medical uses - so I can scratch that "exception" out of the argument too.
I've personally witnessed a guy roll his wheelchair into an alley on the West End of H, stand up, check his chair out then sit back down and roll out onto the street.
It's certainly not a blanket statement about all people in wheelchairs on H, but rather a confirmation that this scam happens.
I saw the same thing. I saw a group of young boys (ages 14 - 16 possibly) all taking turns getting in and out and riding in a wheel chair. I can't remember where though
Which brings to mind ANOTHER huge issue in the general neighborhood (and elsewhere) - complete lack of parental responsibility. Constantly I see kids running wild in the area, with no regard for authority, private property, or any sense of control. I can admit to my fair amount of stupid stuff done as a kid and even as a teenager, but it was either done in my own yard or in abandoned lots, et cetera, whereas here it seems like they feel they have no worries whatsoever as far as repercussions for their behavior.
Specifically for me, there are a group of 3 to 5 kids (perhaps more) in and around my block that can't be more than 15 years old that are constantly up to no good in our alleyway - and I don't mean just your run of the mill "get off my lawn" type of activity. At one point they were discharging dry powder fire extinguishers at each other and around the area of multiple back yards to the extend that I assumed there was a fire of some sort. I wondered where they might have aquired them until I witnessed several kids (perhaps the same?) being arrested for apparently breaking into their soon-to-be opened school - no doubt intent on theft and vandalism.
Arresting them obviously isn't a deterrent (go figure - considering the state of our esteemed, efficient and well managed police force) but more importantly why are there so many parents that are completely unconcerned with disciplining their children and teaching them some basic concepts of respect for property and their community.
On the MPD-1D mailing list, Cmdr. Kamperin has said that they don't believe that this guy-in-a-wheelchair is the same guy-in-a-wheelchair involved in the robbery of the Capitol City Diner folks.
For whatever that's worth.
Did you notice that the shooting didn't show up on the MPD-1D crime list? Other Sept 14th crime events were listed.
Yesterday, while the helicopters were circling above, my neighbor looked out his back window and saw a man in a wheelchair trying to hide in my neighbor's backyard (we live two blocks from where this happened). In fact, this man in the wheelchair asked my neighbor's next-door neighbor to help him down into the basement stairwell (b/c he couldn't get down there on his own due to his disability) to hide because people were "looking for him." My neighbor called 911, and the man rolled away before police came. Anyway ... chances are, this is the same guy - and the wheelchair seems to be legit.
Was the firearm registered? Surely this lawful citizen was defending himself or property?
Why are there so many parents that are completely unconcerned with disciplining their children and teaching them some basic concepts of respect for property and their community.
Do you have a few minutes? ;)
Seriously though, when we were that age, I seem to remember part of the curb on violent behavior was that, if we acted like violent assholes towards grown-ups, there was always the threat--real or imagined--that some adult was going to beat the unholy living shit out of us.
Given that nowadays, you have thirteen year olds swinging water-filled gallon milk cartons at passing cyclists, etc... that doesn't seem operative any longer.
Vive le difference!
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