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POLICING: In wake of Ferguson, D.C. Council grapples with criminal justice complaints
From Page 4
tively. He described routinely walking around Petworth at 3 a.m. with a bag of marijuana in his pocket, but said he was never stopped by police. In contrast, Ward 5 member Kenyan McDuffie, who is black, reported that he and his friends had frequent interactions with law enforcement during their youth — even when they clearly weren’t doing anything wrong. “I can’t count how many times I’ve been stopped by police officers,� he said. “I can’t
count how many times I’ve been thrown on the sidewalk.� Discussion about police brutality generated some of the hearing’s most intense moments, including during testimony from Patrice Sulton of D.C.’s affiliate of the NAACP. “The police officers in D.C. — some of the officers — treat the citizens who are black in this community like animals on a daily basis,� she said. Advocates singled out specific police practices they find problematic, including gratuitous use of flash-bang grenades and battering rams as well as “jump-out� stops where sev-
eral officers emerge swiftly from an unmarked car to frisk an individual on the street. Advocates even questioned the use of “consent searches� wherein citizens voluntarily submit to police searches. The worry is that citizens are consenting out of fear or intimidation. Several council members, including Grosso and committee chair Tommy Wells, who represents Ward 6, said more responsibility must fall on the police not to escalate interactions with citizens. They also wondered aloud about whether officers need to be as heavily armed as they often are.
The council members generally steered clear of criticizing D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, but advocates including at-large D.C. Council candidate Eugene Puryear said the chief is part of the problem. “I know Cathy Lanier is very popular, but it seems that she errs on the side of using more force, more police officers in communities as opposed to building relationships,� Puryear said. The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will reconvene Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Wilson Building to discuss these issues with representatives of the police department.
CARNEGIE: Plans withdrawn From Page 7
running out of space in its current quarters at 800 F St., and is also facing the expiration of its current lease there in 2017. “We were past the point of being able to keep to the deadline we set for ourselves,� spokesperson Jason Werden said of the decision to pull the plug on the Carnegie project, after again failing to satisfy the preservation board’s recommendation to downsize additions. “In no way was the proposal turned down,� Werden said. “But nothing further could be sacrificed, without sacrificing the success of the business.� Now the museum, which
obtained a nonprofit designation in preparation for its move into a cityowned building, is turning its attention to finding other, larger quarters — roughly triple the size of its current 25,000 square feet. The location is unknown, though city economic development officials would love to keep it in D.C. Werden said Monday that the museum believes it needs 75,000 square feet of space to accommodate existing public exhibits, events, executive offices and “additional interactive exhibits.� Officials are reviewing potential sites, he said. “We love being in the District, and see it as our ideal home,� Werden said. “But we have to keep all our options open.�
OREGON: Street upgrade ahead From Page 3
road corridor has required some sacrifices. There simply isn’t room for a bike lane, although Oregon Avenue is a well-used bike route. “We don’t have enough right-ofway, and would have to cut down more trees and introduce retaining walls,� Wayne Wilson, a Transportation Department project manager, told the federal panel, which has jurisdiction over city projects overlooking federal buildings and major federal parks. That caused some consternation on the panel. “Why were bike lanes eliminated?� asked commissioner Mia Lehrer. “You’re narrowing the road, and not providing for bikers. But bikes do not go away. All across the country, it’s becoming an alternative [mode of transportation]. Where will the bikers go?� she asked, adding that it would be “really dangerous� for cyclists to share the sidewalk with pedestrians. Wilson suggested cyclists — commuters and recreational — could use the existing and nearby bike trail through the park. He said a bike lane can’t replace the planned green strip, which is necessary to absorb stormwater and also to buffer pedestrians from passing traffic. Community debate has focused on the sidewalk itself. A 2010 city law requires a sidewalk on at least one side of any newly paved street, but some neighbors have argued that a sidewalk would change the rural
character of this corridor. The sidewalk will occupy public land, but still appear to cut into lawns; it will also require removing some trees and installing a few retaining walls. “A very vocal community has mobilized. There’s still some opposition to sidewalks because they’re perceived as urban,â€? landscape architect Oliver Boehm said. But Boehm told the fine arts panel that plans have been refined to “preserve the rustic character and ‌. respect the residential community,â€? by minimizing tree loss and sensitively designing retaining walls. He said planners worked with property owners — including major stakeholders like St. John’s College High School, Knollwood Army Retirement Home and several culde-sac residential communities — to minimize disturbance to lawns. Some details are still being worked out. Boehm and Wilson said they’re discussing with St. John’s the possibility of using a bit of the school’s property for the sidewalk on the southern end of the Oregon Avenue strip. There’s also discussion of adding a left-turn lane where Oregon intersects Military Road to cut down on frequent traffic backups that affect both the school community and neighbors to the north. More community meetings will be scheduled before final designs are crafted and costed out. The next community meeting will be on Nov. 19, and more information is available at oregonaveddot.com.
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