Re: [BloomingdaleActionList] Melee on V Street Last Night

Thanks Betsy. This is helpful.

To be clear, this morning's event was scary at times, but mainly and thankfully a huge annoyance for we observants. Although my neighbor saw a kid hitting cars with the stick, I only saw kids removing bricks from flower boxes -- neither of which should be taken lightly.

My experience with Howard Students has been overall very positive. However, I believe strongly that adults have a responsibility to guide young people into being responsible adults and that guidance involves understanding consequences.

It would be beneficial for all involved if Howard directed the kids involved to apologize in person to the residents of the 100 block of V. And perhaps they could pick up garbage in the neighborhood. These gestures certainly wouldn't hurt.

Just a suggestion...

Patrick



------Original Message------
From: Betsy McDaniel <bloomingdame@gmail.com>
To: "bloomingdaleactionlist@googlegroups.com" <bloomingdaleactionlist@googlegroups.com>,"Marc Morgan" <morgan@morganfordc.com>,"Jana Baldwin" <janacbaldwin@gmail.com>
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2012 10:41:40 AM GMT-0400
Subject: Re: [BloomingdaleActionList] Melee on V Street Last Night

Patrick

Sorry to hear this.

I attended a portion of a meeting about noise two weeks ago with Howard U
and LeDroit Park CA. Mark was there for more of it than me, and I don't
know if he stayed until the end, but I didn't hear any discussion of
violence.

Obviously, more parties should get involved in this discussion and
investigation, since it crosses two wards and the university.

I am forwarding this to some of the LDP folks from the meeting, and perhaps
they can advise if there is a history of this, and if so, how it has been
dealt with.

I second the suggestion to call 911 at the first hint of trouble. Glad to
hear they responded quickly.

Betsy

On Sunday, September 23, 2012, Patrick Hudak wrote:

> All,
>
> Just a heads up to what occurred on the 100 block of V street last night.
> About 2:00 am, several of my neighbors and I were awakened to the sound of
> some college-aged kids yelling on the street. At first, it seemed like the
> not-infrequent experience of kids having a bit too much fun on a Saturday
> night and not respecting their neighbors. I got up and watched from my
> window as what looked like about 8 people suddenly turned into about 20
> people, yelling at each other and doing the "bring it on and let's fight"
> body posture. Events spiraled downward rapidly with one kid swinging a
> long wooden stick (like a thinner 2x4), other kids throwing bricks, and a
> fight breaking out between several people in the middle of the street. By
> this time, several of us had called the police who showed up within a
> minute or two. As soon as the kids heard the police, they scattered, many
> of them running around the police cars as they were parking.
>
> The next several hours involved the police cordoning off of the sidewalk
> which is splattered in some cases and drizzled in others with blood,
> interviewing witnesses, speaking with some of the kids at Howard, bringing
> in a detective for more interviews, and then being parked on the street
> with lights flashing till morning. According to the police's initial
> thoughts, the fight was between Howard students and locals, perhaps
> originating at one of the neighborhood parties. During the V street brawl,
> several kids were stabbed. According to the bleeding kids who had returned
> to Carver Hall, they had been jumped by the locals earlier that evening and
> had confronted them later on V.
>
> The common question being asked by my neighbors and me is why no one was
> arrested? According to the police, they didn't see anyone fighting. As
> for the boys who were stabbed and obviously a part of this, the police said
> that they have no proof that these boys were not simply victims who were
> defending themselves. And neither the boys who were fighting nor the girls
> who were videotaping it with their phones were likely to work with the
> police to find the perpetrators.
>
> Needless to say, this is a bit frustrating, since several of us witnessed
> it and did not see a group of thugs jumping a group of students. Rather,
> it looked like what the boys described -- a planned confrontation.
> Although I don't think any of us want to see innocent kids arrested, you
> have to wonder what kind of message it sends to them that they can choose
> to settle a dispute in this way with no repercussions. Also, my point is
> not to denigrate the police, but the experience has me wondering if their
> lack of effort to detain anyone is based on the District having no
> anti-loitering laws.
>
> You can draw your own conclusions, but my takeaway is to be extra vigilant
> on evenings when there are lots of parties, call the police at the first
> sign of anything suspicious and videotape as much as you can as evidence.
>
> Hopefully, the guys who got stabbed are okay, and someone will care enough
> about the kids responsible for the melee (who may also include the kids who
> got stabbed) to make sure they don't behave so poorly in the future.
>
>
>