checkpoints in d.c.

D.C. Cops to Lock Down Parts of City, Demand ID from Citizens

Michael Neibauer and Bill Myers
The Examiner
June 4, 2008

D.C. police will seal off entire neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and kick out strangers under a new program that D.C. officials hope will help them rescue the city from its out-of-control violence.




Under an executive order expected to be announced today, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier will have the authority to designate â??Neighborhood Safety Zones.â?� At least six officers will man cordons around those zones and demand identification from people coming in and out of them. Anyone who doesnâ??t live there, work there or have â??legitimate reasonâ?� to be there will be sent away or face arrest, documents obtained by The Examiner show.

Lanier has been struggling to reverse D.C.â??s spiraling crime rate but has been forced by public outcry to scale back several initiatives including her â??All Hands on Deckâ?� weekends and plans for warrantless, door-to-door searches for drugs and guns.

Under todayâ??s proposal, the no-go zones will last up to 10 days, according to internal police documents. Front-line officers are already being signed up for training on running the blue curtains.

Peter Nickles, the cityâ??s interim attorney general, said the quarantine would have â??a narrow focus.â?�

â??This is a very targeted program that has been used in other cities,â?� Nickles told The Examiner. â??Iâ??m not worried about the constitutionality of it.â?�










Washington Post Covers Police State Actions in D.C.

Allison Klein
Washington Post
June 5, 2008

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced a military-style checkpoint yesterday to stop cars this weekend in a Northeast Washington neighborhood inundated by gun violence, saying it will help keep criminals out of the area.

Starting on Saturday, officers will check driversâ?? identification and ask whether they have a â??legitimate purposeâ?� to be in the Trinidad area, such as going to a doctor or church or visiting friends or relatives. If not, the drivers will be turned away.

The Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative is the latest crime-fighting attempt by Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who have been under pressure from residents to stop a recent surge in violence. Last weekend was especially bloody, with seven slayings, including three in the Trinidad area.




â??In certain areas, we need to go beyond the normal methods of policing,â?� Fenty (D) said at a news conference announcing the action. â??Weâ??re going to go into an area and completely shut it down to prevent shootings and the sale of drugs.â?�

The checkpoint will stop vehicles approaching the 1400 block of Montello Avenue NE, a section of the Trinidad neighborhood that has been plagued with homicides and other violence. Police will search cars if they suspect the presence of guns or drugs, and will arrest people who do not cooperate, under a charge of failure to obey a police officer, officials said.

The enforcement will take place at random hours and last for at least five days in Trinidad, with the option of extending it five more days. Checkpoints could be set up in other neighborhoods if they are requested by patrol commanders and approved by Lanier.

The strategy, patterned after a similar effort conducted years ago in New York, is not airtight. There are many ways to get in and out of Trinidad, not just on the one-way Montello Avenue. And pedestrians will not be stopped, which is something critics say might render the program ineffective.

â??I guess the plan is to hope criminals will not walk into neighborhoods,â?� said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). â??I also suppose the plan is to take the criminalâ??s word for it when he or she gives the police a reason for driving into a neighborhood.â?�

Since taking over as chief in December 2006, Lanier has struggled with the issue of violent crime. She has added patrols, revived a unit specializing in getting guns off the streets and changed commanders in six of the cityâ??s seven patrol districts. Last weekend, officers were close enough in one case that they heard the barrage of gunfire coming from a triple homicide on Holbrook Street in Trinidad.

thanks for sharing man, this is some scary shit
what other freedoms will they want to compromise next?

:joint1:

Unconstitutional, ineffective, completely outrageous. This is what happens when a district does not have adequate representation in Congress... force a city into horrible economic straits and then treat them like prisoners? Damn. I can't wait to see some of these arrests result in a class-action lawsuit against the City.

can anyone say 'ACLU'

I can already hear them rattling their sabres and gnashing their teeth.

Yeah clearly unconstitional. They get people used to this in one area and then they'll try it in another area till it every city starts trying it. Needs to nip this one in the bud:jointsmile:quickly.