What resonates first amongst the stories I have witnessed in the media residing in the District of Columbia are the serious police misconduct and violations by the Metropolitan Police Department receiving local and national coverage. As an Investigative Intern, I analyzed evidence which can assist a client’s defense against criminal charges from the Metropolitan Police District such as body camera footage, interviews with witnesses, victims, and community members, and legal memorandums. Through investigative tasks, the Public Defender Services provided an up-close perspective of police misconduct as indigent defendants are accused, arrested, and supervised in facilities after a crime has been committed. It is customary to collect any possible violations of police misconduct to provide an adequate defense against the prosecution. Based upon experiences of indigent defendants and provided discovery of misconduct, the Metropolitan Police Department too often fails to impose consequences on officers found to have committed serious violations. In the selected media story by the Washington City Paper, seven officers of the Metropolitan Police Department have at least two sustained complaints. Misconduct includes assaultive and terrorizing behavior, treating residents with disrespect, using flagrant, racially-charged contempt, and having faults with investigations such as inconsistencies with witnes statements, evidence collection, and safety procedures. Without public exposure, the Metropolitan Police Department continues to deploy problematic police officers. Descriptions of the actions and discipline of seven police officers are provided. With about 800 complaints filed against the Metropolitan Police Department every year, almost none are sustained after further review and often results in no charges against the officers. Since the Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia represents the most serious, high-profile criminal cases in the District of Columbia, the assigned indigent defendants which I represent are accused of committing a crime, their criminal hearings, trials, and pre-trial custody awaiting period with the Metropolitan Police Department adds to conflicts between Black communities and the local government.
Conditions which prevent news stories about the Metropolitan Police Department from receiving coverage in mainstream media are due to more prominent national issues arising in the District of Columbia as the Capital of the United States. As legislative acts which are written, enacted, and implemented through federal government agencies, national legislative efforts are more frequently broadcasted than local government affairs. Since the District of Columbia is not a state, the Council of the District of Columbia must be involved in a lengthy legal process to obtain a majority in Congress to implement legislative acts. Local legislative efforts to improve crime rates have failed in Congress by blocking a controversial overhaul of the District of Columbia’s Criminal Code. The Revised Criminal Code Act passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, overriding Mayor Bowser’s veto. However, the House of Representatives did not obtain a majority vote in 2023. The Revised Criminal Code Act would have eliminated most mandatory minimum prison sentences, reduced the maximum sentence for crimes such as burglaries, carjackings, and robberies, and allowed jury trials for misdemeanor cases of which prison sentence is possible. Congress did not pass the Revised Criminal Code Act due to having lowered the statutory minimum and maximum penalties for certain crimes during a period of historical rising crime rates. Additionally, the variety of federal government agencies which patrol federal property prevents more local news coverage in mainstream media about the Metropolitan Police Department. Examples include the National Park Police, Metro Police, Secret Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and Central Intelligence Agency. Being in the District of Columbia allows for more important cases to be heard about more prominent national issues, rather than local. Due to the events of January 6th, heightened security near federal buildings as well as highway and road closures. During the internship, former President Donald Trump visited the District of Columbia on two occasions. To describe news stories about local events, the accused crimes of indigent defendants often receive a majority of broadcasting footage rather than the Metropolitan Police Department.
The Capstone Draft is finished! I analyzed the District of Columbia’s Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2023. I learned about the legislative process of the Council of the District of Columbia, evaluated the Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2023, interviewed Special Counsel on Policy Katerina Semyonova for the Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia, and reviewed the Council of the District of Columbia’s legislative meeting. To prepare for the Global Scholars Showcase, I began cultivating a research poster and focused towards potential public policy recommendations and future research implications.
HSF House Blogs 