BEYOND THE HOLLY AND THE IVY
OUT WITH THE OLD? COUNCIL EYES CHANGES ON MANY FRONTS
POWER PLAY AT CITY HALL
Other plants for decking the halls this Christmas season. PAGE 6
New hires, new budget process, input on the new school, and maybe a whole new form of government for the city. PAGES 3 TO 6
Charge it! Grant money funds three electric cars for parking enforcement. PAGE 9
Homeowner hospitalized after police shooting by Susie Currie
A Hyattsville woman remains hospitalized after a city police officer shot her in the chest in the basement of her 43rd Avenue home on the morning of December 4. The victim was armed with a knife and refusing to leave her basement, according to Lt. Chris Purvis of the Hyattsville City Police Department (HCPD). Four officers responded to a call for assistance for what Purvis called “mental-health issues.” It was the second such call to that address in 24 hours. Officers arrived shortly after 10:30 a.m.; the shooting occurred around 11:10 a.m. “The intent was to transport her for [an emergency] evaluation,” said Purvis. In Maryland, these psychiatric evaluations require petitioning the court and demonstrating that a person is “in clear and imminent danger of doing bodily harm to yourself or others.” But she refused to go with the officers, and also refused to remove her hands from her pockets when asked. At some point, she “displayed a knife in a threatening manner towards the officers,” according to the HCPD statement. One officer “[tried] to subdue
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SHOOTING continued on page 12
Hyattsville Life&Times
Vol. 10 No. 12
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
WAITING FOR
December 2013
Mining for gold, finding stories instead by Alex Holt
MICHAEL HORLICK At the cityʼs annual Breakfast with Santa on December 7, Kathryn Bishop, Gabrielle Flowers and Sam Chappelle are all smiles.
By many standards, Christopher Brophy’s trip to Alaska this year to mine for gold was not a success. He didn’t make a lot of money. The work didn’t suit him. He switched boats midway through his stay, leaving behind the junior high school friend who’d recruited him into the adventure. But while the longtime Hyattsville resident and former restaurateur may not have literally struck it rich, he came back with many tales to tell. They form the basis of his new self-published book, Dirty Weather & other Nome stories, which went up for sale on Amazon at the end of October. The adventure started last winter. Brophy, 54, was between jobs BROPHY continued on page 13
City passes Human Rights Act by Rosanna Landis Weaver
With the passage of the Hyattsville Human Rights Act on December 2, Hyattsville became one of a handful of cities protecting the rights of transgender people in employment, housing and real-estate transactions, and public accommodations. The legislation was sponsored by Ward 3 Councilmember Patrick Paschall, who is senior policy counsel for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. It declares “it illegal to engage in discriminatory conduct based on age, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, mari-
tal status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical characteristic[s] and extends this protection in employment, housing and real estate transactions and public accommodation.” This echoes many of the protections already codified in federal, state and county law, but adds gender identity and physical characteristics. Maryland is one of 21 states that has laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Until now, the city itself had no nondiscrimination policy on the books, other than personnel policies, and the decision brought television and news coverage to the area.
“This is a historic opportunity for the city of Hyattsville to be at the cutting of edge of civil rights in the state of Maryland,” says Paschall. “We are now the fifth Maryland jurisdiction — and the first small municipality — to add gender identity non-discrimination protections to its laws.” One Hyattsville resident who is excited about the new law is 18-year-old Ray Everhart who is “gender fluid,” comfortable with both male and female pronouns. “Our leaders are finally aware of the fact that we have people who are different and they need to be protected too. It’s nice.” At graduation at Northwest-
ern High School in 2013, Everhart wanted to graduate with the boys, having strong negative memories of identity discomfort in the white gown worn at junior high graduation. “This is how I choose to represent myself,” says Everhart, and while at one point the principal suggested it might not be allowed, after Everhart’s parents supportively joined the conversation, permission was granted and “at that point it was a win.” “This bill being passed is going to pave the way for other young people and older people who have been struggling,” says Everhart. “It’s going to be good.”
Included: The December 11, 2013 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section