MPD Deputy Chief Kyle (second from left) addresses residents on shootings in Hill East. L-R, MPD 1D Commander Colin Hall, (Kyle), MPD 1D Lt. Seth Anderson and MPD 1D Captain David Augustine (in business attire) – behind him in green top is ANC7D Commissioner Ashley Schapitl.
Here’s an image showing the crowd size at the sidewalk meeting.
MPD Details Response to Hill East Shootings
by Larry Janezich
Posted April 11, 2024
At 6:00pm on Wednesday night, some 50 neighbors around 15th and Independence SE, gathered in front of the 7-11 at that location for an MPD “safety walk.” They turned out because they were alarmed about a spate of shootings in the 1500 – 1700 blocks of Independence Avenue, SE, and wanted to know what MPD was doing about it. ANC7D Commissioner Ashley Schapitl announced the upcoming walk at ANC7D monthly meeting on Tuesday night. (Since redistricting last year, the neighborhood is in Ward 7 but still policed by MPD’s First District.)
A lot of MPD brass turned out: Deputy Chief for Patrol Services Ramey Kyle and from the MPD First District, Commander Colin Hall, Capt. David Augustine, Lt. Seth Anderson, and a couple of MPD officers. In addition, local officials and candidates who showed up included: ANC7D Chair Wendell Felder, 7D Commissioners Ebony Payne, Brian Alcorn, and Ashley Schapitl. Also present were Ward 7 Council candidate Eboni-Rose Thompson (Felder and Payne are also Council candidates), and Brynn Barnett, Chair of ANC7D’s Public Safety Committee.
WUSA and DC Now television news crews showed up.
Residents expressed their deep concerns and fear – sometimes emotionally – about the increase in gun violence in the community. There have been two incidents recently – one in front of the 7-11, and another at 17th and Independence. Some of the neighbors related accounts of their home being penetrated by bullets.
Deputy Chief Ramey Kyle: MPD has put a lot of resources into the area. Regarding two recent shootings, that has been one arrest and there’s one arrest warrant out. In addition, we have “a lot of other things working in the neighborhood.” We have made key arrests – the shootings were targeted and not widespread and appear related to outsiders coming into the neighborhood. There was a spike in crime last July – since then it’s gone down. We believe the shootings in this area might be a neighborhood dispute. There are not a lot of people involved – sometimes very petty disputes and access to guns results in violence. He said he talks with Violence Interrupter supervisors two or three ties a day and violence interrupters have been in the neighborhood.
Asked about a vacant house on 17th Street being related to the shootings and whether it was possible to evict the occupants Augustine said that what MPD can do is address actionable stuff – warrants based on probably cause. He said he was not aware of any pending eviction notice regarding the house.
The declaration of a property as a nuisance property and the issue of eviction fall under the purview of other agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General and the deputy mayor’s office.
Augustine emphasized that what MPD can do in impart visibility to the community and stressed the importance of providing as much detail as possible when calling 911 to help the call center raise the call to a higher priority.
Commander Hall discussed the nature of the whole plan to address criminal justice issues in the area which involves micro beats, increased bike patrols, involvement of the Crime Suppression Team and the Violent Crime Suppression Division, and traffic enforcement and arrests. He said that Operation Atlas which focuses resources on neighborhood where violent crimes have occurred was involved. Finally, he said that a multi-agency walking tour of the neighborhood has been scheduled for Thursday to address in real time some of the environmental and quality of life issues in the neighborhood.
Hall noted that the recently installed 360 degree camera on a light pole at the corner of 15th and Independence helps solve crimes – it “picks up the bread crumbs of crime” and sometimes prevents it. He says MPD craves information and believes they have a great connection with the community which is something they want to build on.
The street corner Q&A period lasted an hour. There have been several meetings or briefings related to public safety this month and one consistent message from MPD is that crime is down significantly compared to the first quarter of 2023 but the crime numbers are likely to show an uptick as warmer weather approaches. One of the best ways for residents to raise their concerns and address MPD and other public safety officials directly is at the monthly First District Citizens Advisory Council virtual meetings. These meeting provide a wealth of public safety information plus the presence of public officials who answer questions from the public. Given that, it’s surprising so few residents with concerns about crime participate or attend. Here’s the link to the 1st District MPD CAC: https://1dcac.com/
Next: MPD/City Agencies focus on the “nuisance” house neighbors call the target of driveby gunshots.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 