As for Patrick's question about arrests, I'll pass that on to Lt. Randy Griffin and Cmdr. Solberg to see if they would like to respond. But until then, here are my thoughts. You are right that after going through a scary experience like last night's, no one getting arrested is frustrating. I am sure the police are frustrated as well because they know they look bad in the eyes of people in the neighborhood. But they have also learned--often the hard way--that "no evidence, no case." If they didn't witness the people who were fighting, don't have a video from someone (check YouTube today for that), or don't have witnesses who are willing to make a sworn statement that leads them to specific perpetrators, they've go nothing that will legally allow them to make an arrest let alone a case. But perhaps the investigation will lead to some arrests.
I'll keep you posted,
John
John T. Salatti
Vice President, Bloomingdale Civic Association
(202) 986-2592
"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 11:46 AM, Teri Janine <terijanine@gmail.com> wrote:
I reached out to Dr. Steven Johnson, a VP at Howard, for guidance with regard to this situation. Dr. Johnson spoke to us Monday night during last civic association meeting. He was there regarding homecoming but we also spent some time discussing how to handle issues involving students in the neighborhood. He encouraged us to reach out to him and Howard police officers when problems arise but he also said in emergencies our first step should always be to dial 911.
I'll let you know what he says.
Best,
Teri Janine
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 23, 2012, at 11:27 AM, "Patrick" <patrickhudak@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.
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