Are D.C. residents divided on what to do with police reform, crime, etc.?

[Anonymous]

How many black teens have been killed this year in DC or the nation at large and how many were police related? Mr. Brown's death is sad but all the guy had to do was to stop and not flee recklessly down a street. My guess is that his was a life filled with impulsive actions, and sadly, this decision resulted in his death. The idea that people in DC or people in America, black or white, are respectful towards the police or authority figures in general is a laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many black teens have been killed this year in DC or the nation at large and how many were police related? Mr. Brown's death is sad but all the guy had to do was to stop and not flee recklessly down a street. My guess is that his was a life filled with impulsive actions, and sadly, this decision resulted in his death. The idea that people in DC or people in America, black or white, are respectful towards the police or authority figures in general is a laugh.

Yeah years of watching the police kill and beat people will erode respect. If the police want respect, they should deserve it. Right now they deserve nothing but contempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The looting and defense of looting has turned me into a quasi-republican. There is no excuse ever for ransacking an innocent small business. I’m still mad.

Corporate fraud cost us more in 1 day than all the looting this year.

Probably not, but fraud doesn't create a lack of amenities in downtown areas, cause middle-class flight, or otherwise hollow out our urban areas.

[Anonymous]

It bothers me that people flaunt the laws. I think that minor infractions should be punished to bigger issues. People litter, dump trash. This should be punished.

Now you have gangs of illegal motorcycles that tear through the city constantly, running lights and driving on sidewalks and the police have to sit and let them be. How the hell is that helpful to anyone. But nothing will happen until someone innocent gets killed. Then the Mayor will station police cars randomly around the city with officers directed to sit in their cars and do nothing; they will get terribly bored and just look down at their phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The looting and defense of looting has turned me into a quasi-republican. There is no excuse ever for ransacking an innocent small business. I’m still mad.

Corporate fraud cost us more in 1 day than all the looting this year.

Probably not, but fraud doesn't create a lack of amenities in downtown areas, cause middle-class flight, or otherwise hollow out our urban areas.

It does, because tax fraud and gross evasion is a big part of it, and the lack of money to address poverty is a big contributor to why DC is going to become a more unpleasant place to live.

[Anonymous]

I think the current situation in DC is doing no one any favors.

The police are mostly lazy and incompetent and because there are a lot of them they cost DC a lot of money, money which probably could be better spent on other things.

On top of the police doing a poor job we are now in this crazy situation in DC where the pendulum has politically swung so far the other way that a lot of the political class doesn't want anyone to ever be held responsible for anything or to have any part in the solution.

We've stopped enforcing laws against fare evasion on Metro, we've eliminated fines for not returning library books, the city no longer wants to take away peoples licenses or cars regardless of how many moving violations/parking tickets they've piled up and now there is a serious movement in DC among some people who want to permanently end evictions! While we are at it let's require companies to pay people to not work (we are mostly there with MPD already) and ban DCPS from giving kids grades or even expecting kids to show up for school.

When I was a kid when people shoplifted they did it surreptitiously. In DC I routinely see teens just openly walk out of stores with food or merchandise with not a concern in the world that they are visibly shoplifting. And why would they be concerned? If you are under 21 in DC the system bends over backwards to forgive you and not hold you accountable so as a result MPD doesn't even want to bother arresting juveniles.

So we have chaos everywhere in DC. Our roads are just nuts with no one following the law and people park their cars illegally with impunity, particularly if they are from the suburbs and know they can ignore the tickets. Kids treat Metro like a playground horsing around, threatening people and being crude but why should they care - they don't need to pay to ride and no one would do anything to them if they were arrested. You've got these gangs of jackasses on their dirt bikes riding all over town terrorizing people.

This moped case is just another example - there was absolutely no excuse for this guy to be riding a moped on the sidewalk - it is illegal and dangerous but I guarantee he has been doing it for years including in front of cops with no on ever saying anything.

Then mysteriously he gets confronted by a cop and then pursued (which everyone knows is against MPD policy) and ends up dead - both he and the cops should have known better but everyone just makes it up as they go along.

The pre-school to prison pipeline is a real thing and has been an on-going tragedy for low income people of color and is a pattern we need to do everything we can to break.

But the alternative of not having any expectations or consequences is just as harmful for the same community and if left unchecked is eventually going to drag the entire city down the drain with it.

The place to start IMHO is with an engaged and competent and pro-active MPD rather than what we have today which is a bunch of guys sitting in their cars with the engine running all day while they stare at their phones and you need to pair that with a more creative criminal justice system and dynamic education system leading to good paying jobs that lift people out of poverty - in DC right now I think we just aimlessly throw lots of money at the problem and hope for the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The looting and defense of looting has turned me into a quasi-republican. There is no excuse ever for ransacking an innocent small business. I’m still mad.

The attack on my neighbors had turned me into a quasi-leftist. There is no excuse for police violence.

Glad you care about Walmart. They don't care about you.

No one has attacked your neighbors except street criminals -- and in DC, almost 0% of those are white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, can we please stop with this bullshit where we blame all black people for the actions of a few black people.

You know damn well whenever a white person shoots up a school, nobody is going around saying the culture of white people is a problem.

Also, can we please stop with this bullshit where we blame all police officers for the actions of a few police officers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The looting and defense of looting has turned me into a quasi-republican. There is no excuse ever for ransacking an innocent small business. I’m still mad.

The attack on my neighbors had turned me into a quasi-leftist. There is no excuse for police violence.

Glad you care about Walmart. They don't care about you.

No one has attacked your neighbors except street criminals -- and in DC, almost 0% of those are white.

You're only right if you consider "neighbors" to be white. I care about my Black neighbors who are harassed by MPD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the current situation in DC is doing no one any favors.

The police are mostly lazy and incompetent and because there are a lot of them they cost DC a lot of money, money which probably could be better spent on other things.

On top of the police doing a poor job we are now in this crazy situation in DC where the pendulum has politically swung so far the other way that a lot of the political class doesn't want anyone to ever be held responsible for anything or to have any part in the solution.

We've stopped enforcing laws against fare evasion on Metro, we've eliminated fines for not returning library books, the city no longer wants to take away peoples licenses or cars regardless of how many moving violations/parking tickets they've piled up and now there is a serious movement in DC among some people who want to permanently end evictions! While we are at it let's require companies to pay people to not work (we are mostly there with MPD already) and ban DCPS from giving kids grades or even expecting kids to show up for school.

When I was a kid when people shoplifted they did it surreptitiously. In DC I routinely see teens just openly walk out of stores with food or merchandise with not a concern in the world that they are visibly shoplifting. And why would they be concerned? If you are under 21 in DC the system bends over backwards to forgive you and not hold you accountable so as a result MPD doesn't even want to bother arresting juveniles.

So we have chaos everywhere in DC. Our roads are just nuts with no one following the law and people park their cars illegally with impunity, particularly if they are from the suburbs and know they can ignore the tickets. Kids treat Metro like a playground horsing around, threatening people and being crude but why should they care - they don't need to pay to ride and no one would do anything to them if they were arrested. You've got these gangs of jackasses on their dirt bikes riding all over town terrorizing people.

This moped case is just another example - there was absolutely no excuse for this guy to be riding a moped on the sidewalk - it is illegal and dangerous but I guarantee he has been doing it for years including in front of cops with no on ever saying anything.

Then mysteriously he gets confronted by a cop and then pursued (which everyone knows is against MPD policy) and ends up dead - both he and the cops should have known better but everyone just makes it up as they go along.

The pre-school to prison pipeline is a real thing and has been an on-going tragedy for low income people of color and is a pattern we need to do everything we can to break.

But the alternative of not having any expectations or consequences is just as harmful for the same community and if left unchecked is eventually going to drag the entire city down the drain with it.

The place to start IMHO is with an engaged and competent and pro-active MPD rather than what we have today which is a bunch of guys sitting in their cars with the engine running all day while they stare at their phones and you need to pair that with a more creative criminal justice system and dynamic education system leading to good paying jobs that lift people out of poverty - in DC right now I think we just aimlessly throw lots of money at the problem and hope for the best.

I agree with every word of this. I fear the most likely outcome is no expectations/consequences and everything going down the drain.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget about the no-papering movement (downgrading criminal charges)

[Anonymous]

So what is the Mayor and City Council putting in place to educate, divert, rehab the kids raised under zero consequences (people might also call that zero expectations)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke white people want to defund the police and clap themselves on the back for being a friend to the black person.

Black people want more police to keep their streets safe and allow their kids to get ice-cream without being shot.

There is a reason why Trayon White is so popular.

Black people also don't want police to shoot their kid who is reaching for an ice cream cone.

Has this happened in DC? I get tired of police in one jurisdiction being blamed for the actions of police in other jurisdictions. There is no national uniform training or standards for police. There is no uniform hiring requirements. It's all based on individual state requirements. And MPD is actually a pretty good police department. There is always room for improvement, but don't tear them down for things they haven't done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke white people want to defund the police and clap themselves on the back for being a friend to the black person.

Black people want more police to keep their streets safe and allow their kids to get ice-cream without being shot.

There is a reason why Trayon White is so popular.

Black people also don't want police to shoot their kid who is reaching for an ice cream cone.

I am black. Far more worried about a black man shooting my kid than a cop. Period. Sorry it does not fit your "woke" paradigm.

Please give me more police.[/

I am black and I am not more worried about a black man shooting my kid than a cop. Crime in DC is still isolated. I hate to say it, but in my neighborhood, I'm not worried about him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I worried about a cop rolling up on him and questioning why he is in this neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woke white people want to defund the police and clap themselves on the back for being a friend to the black person.

Black people want more police to keep their streets safe and allow their kids to get ice-cream without being shot.

There is a reason why Trayon White is so popular.

Black people also don't want police to shoot their kid who is reaching for an ice cream cone.

I am black. Far more worried about a black man shooting my kid than a cop. Period. Sorry it does not fit your "woke" paradigm.

Please give me more police.[/

I am black and I am not more worried about a black man shooting my kid than a cop. Crime in DC is still isolated. I hate to say it, but in my neighborhood, I'm not worried about him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I worried about a cop rolling up on him and questioning why he is in this neighborhood.

I am black and I am not more worried about a black man shooting my kid than a cop. Crime in DC is still isolated. I hate to say it, but in my neighborhood, I'm not worried about him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I worried about a cop rolling up on him and questioning why he is in this neighborhood.