For some public officials, law enforcement officials, and residents, recent crime trends are calling into question the effectiveness and necessity of police reform measures passed in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
The Wilson Building, once again, became ground zero in that debate, as people on both sides of the issue weighed in on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Addressing Crime Trends Now (ACT Now) legislation during a hearing conducted by the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.
On Wednesday, Kenithia Alston, mother of the late Marqueese Alston, spoke out against provisions of ACT Now that would allow police officers to review body camera footage before submitting an initial report. She called the bill an affront to her son’s life and that of other Black people killed by law enforcement.
“It took the deaths of many Black lives from our D.C. community and the advocacy of mothers like myself to get legislation that would advance transparency and encourage accountability in D.C.’s police department,” Alston said in her testimony before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.
“It’s imperative that I advocate for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)’s authentic transparency, moral accountability, and impactful laws that truly benefit our community as a whole,” Alston continued. “We need to create an environment in which D.C. residents are still not experiencing jumpout tactics by MPD. This bill does not address the bias and discriminatory actions that plague MPD from top down.”
If passed, the ACT Now legislation also reinstates an anti-loitering law that allows the MPD chief to declare drug-free zones for 120 hours to prohibit the purchase, sale and use of illegal drugs. It creates criminal penalties for organized retail theft and, once again, makes it illegal to wear a mask when committing criminal acts, intimidating people and causing fear.
As it relates to police conduct and transparency, the legislation also includes a provision that creates a distinction between a serious use of force by a police officer and the officer’s incidental contact with a person’s neck during an encounter.
On Wednesday morning, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), chair of the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety listened as District residents, policy experts, and public officials testified either in support, or against, ACT Now.
Her fellow committee members, D.C. Council members Christina Henderson (D-At large), Anita Bonds (D-At large), and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), joined in on the 11-hour marathon hearing, as did D.C. Council members Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), and D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8).
MPD Chief, Some Residents View ACT Now as a Step in the Right Direction
On the night preceding the hearing, Nadeau hosted a town hall meeting at the D.C Health Finance Agency in Northwest where D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela A. Smith outlined her public safety vision to Ward 1 residents and answered their questions about daytime property theft, loitering, and her efforts to boost MPD staffing.
Throughout that Tuesday evening, Smith reiterated her support for the ACT Now legislation, telling community members that officers, in the current environment, are unable to effectively do their jobs without worry about protocol.
Smith said that, in certain situations, especially those involving people wearing masks during the summer, officers aren’t able to act on instinct to prevent potential criminal acts. Such restrictions, she said, have exacerbated the MPD’s staffing issues, currently the subject of a staffing study that’s underway.
On Wednesday, some of those who testified before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety echoed perspectives similar to Smith’s. Robert Vinson Brannum of the Ward 5 Leadership Council’s public safety committee called ACT Now a step in the right direction for quelling violent crime and ensuring the safety of District residents.
“While there has been severe concern about mass incarceration of Black Washingtonians, there must be a concern for the many Black Washingtonians as victims of crimes,” Brannum said.
“Government officials and community advocates must respond with a coordinated plan to address the rise of violent crime in the District,” he continued. “Yes, anti-crime laws must be balanced. The constitutional protections and services should address crime avoidance but advocates for police reform must recognize the plight that crime has on communities of color.”
In her plea to the council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Ward 4 resident Kimberly Lockett demanded ACT Now’s passage. She said she no longer lets her special-needs brother walk their dog out of fear of someone assaulting him. In her testimony, she also recounted an assault of an employee that she witnessed at a Petworth-area Safeway.
“It’s imperative that we make changes,” Lockett said. “It’s imperative that we give the police the tools they need. There should not be a thin line between killing Black and brown people and allowing police to do their job. We can come up with all types of solutions in this city. We shouldn’t be living like this.”
Skye Lawrence, a white Anacostia resident hailing from northern Maine, spoke candidly and vividly about the violent crime, open air drug markets, and sex work that she and her neighbors encounter just steps from their home. In her testimony, she indicted the D.C. government for what she called its failure to protect D.C.’s most vulnerable communities.
“It feels threatening when you get on the bus and seven people are wearing masks. It doesn’t feel good,” Lawrence said. “There’s 25 times more violent crime [east of the Anacostia River] than in Ward 3. Folks in Ward 7 and Ward 8 feel it so much more unequally,” she continued. “The social contract is broken. The government is not holding up its end of the bargain. All of us like to feel like we can be part of our community, but part of that is making sure people feel safe.”
Considering Alternatives to ACT NOW
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Ashley Renee Ruff (7F02) explored the nuances of ACT Now’s anti-loitering provision and questioned whether it would amount to effective policing.
“If you’re not ‘Officer Friendly’ and you don’t know that potential drug seller or the person causing the ruckus, how can you pinpoint who is actually the problem?” Ruff said on Wednesday. “We know that drugs and K2 are prevalent in the neighborhood. I speak for the entire D.C., and maybe not for everyone, but how do we know that we’re picking on the right person at the right time that they have committed a crime?”
ACT Now counts among several public safety measures currently making their way through the D.C. Council.
Earlier this year, Pinto introduced the Addressing Crime through Targeted Interventions and Violence Enforcement Amendment Act. The bill, also known as the ACTIVE Amendment Act, is one of several bills under Pinto’s SECURE DC Plan.
Meanwhile, a slew of bills introduced by Council member Robert White (D-At Large) employs a whole-of-government approach to crime prevention.
During the Nov. 29 hearing, former At-Large Council member William Lightfoot used his institutional knowledge to expand the scope of the public safety discussion. In his testimony, he called for people with gun-related arrests to complete a gun safety course.
He also recommended the launch of a committee that addresses chronic absenteeism in D.C. public and public charter schools.
“An effective truancy plan will cause a decrease in juvenile carjackings,” Lightfoot said. “I strongly encourage council members to exercise meaningful oversight of truancy. Please conduct oversight of implementation of a truancy plan. The truancy is horrible. Strong oversight will result in more students attending class and less juvenile crime.”
