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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No doubt the folks animatedly objecting to the idea that black Washingtonians have any type of anxiety or uneasiness about the Metropolitan Police Department A) aren't black and B) aren't native Washingtonians.
If they were black and if they did grow up in DC or have lived in the District for 20+ years they would know all too well that the Metropolitan Police Department doesn't have a reputation of being "soft".  In fact they are infamous for being the exact opposite.

Peep this...
The District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed more people per resident in the 1990s than any other large American city police force.
From 1975 to 1983, New York averaged 1.36 fatal shootings annually by police per 1,000 officers and Washington's rate was nearly identical at 1.44, according to a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.  By 1995, New York's rate had dropped below 1 and Washington's had risen to nearly 4.
At the height of the crack-cocaine era in the 90's when DC was known as "Dodge City" the implication of gun violence that the moniker suggested didn't just apply to firearm toting drug dealers...it applied very much to the trigger-happy Metropolitan Police Department as well.

You ask any black Washingtonian over the age of 30 if they are wary of the police and I'd be willing to wager that 90% of the time their answer will be a resounding "Hell yes".  
I know the boldness of the brazen criminals you see on the local evening news has some of you believing blacks don't fear the police but bear in mind - not all blacks are criminals.  It's baffling I know but trust me, most blacks are honest hard-working law-abiding citizens going about their daily lives trying to avoid drama and conflict at all costs and subsequently they are very apprehensive of the Metropolitan Police Department because of the history I made mention of above and because even today most of the time any type of interaction with the Metropolitan Police Department ultimately leads to some type of drama or conflict.

Ahhight I'm done y'all can go back to arguing about bullshit.  Good talk.[/quote]
In the 90s we were the murder capital of the country. I'm trying to remember... We had some nickname to that effect. I'm not sure the police activity at that time - thirty years ago? - has led to a lasting fear of DC police, especially on current teenagers who have no recollection. I've found DC police to be generally well mannered cheerful. There is a good representation of AA as well, which many have called for in black community policing relations. How they are deployed, how competent they are, and how backed up they are by laws and prosecutors is what I think is under discussion in a thread called why is DC soft of crime. If fear of police officers plays into DC being soft on crime I'm curious how. I know fear of fellow citizens and being labeled a "snitch" is notorious for leading to unsolved cases in DC and something police routinely lament. [/quote]

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