April 11, 2006
Rock Throwers Provoke Police Response
Almost a month ago we reported on a incident where a cyclist riding up 11th Street was hit by a brick thrown from an overlooking building. The City Paper followed up on the story last week, reporting on similar incidents throughout Columbia Heights.
Today we find that the news has been serious enough to warrant a response from Council-member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who represents the residents of the area in which the incidents occured. In an email sent to his constituents yesterday, Graham passed on the words of Third District Lt. Bart Dykes:
There are twelve (12) balconies facing 11th Street, when I questioned as to whether the rock throwers could be on one of those twelve, he emphatically pointed out once again the areas in which they were coming from. The incidents are said to be occurring after school lets out after 1515 hours, thus various youths use this elevated walkway. They have been chased from this area on several occasions.From all the cyclists in the District, we say, "Thank you."I will instruct PSA 304 officers to give this location special attention during these hours. Housing Police agreed to do the same.
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It's getting worse: a biker says he was attacked by kids in the area and beaten up, and the police were no help.
I hope the police actually do something about this before we see some vigilante justice. It's not unreasonable to assume that bikers in this corridor will begin arming themselves. Just imagine the outcry when a biker shivs a 13-year old.
GhettoBurbs: check the link in Paulo's comment: it's more of the same. The police have no goddam interest in keeping the peace, solving crimes, or making the streets safer for honest citizens. The challenge is on, and cyclists MUST arm themselves NOW. When folks break the law and authorities won't assist, "the law" ceases to exist. I just want to know how savagely I can retaliate before "self defence" can be called "assault." Seriously: how far can the definition go?
What will really happen:
Police Cruiser Rolls up to 11th street, without getting out of car police officer yells out of cruisers window, "Hey you kids, come here I want to talk to you. Kids run away. Patrol car fills out report that nobody was able to identify anyone. Patrol car drives off to get free food. The end.
What can the cops do anyway? They can't even stop the open aired drug sales along 11th-15th street anyways.
I think "self defense" goes pretty far when it's blatantly obvious that you've been severely beaten about the face. What's scary is how quickly this thing could escalate from bikers getting assaulted to bikers retaliating to bikers getting shot. I wish I were kidding but homicides have happened in this area for far smaller transgressions. The sad thing is that this wouldn't happen if someone (police, parents, neighbors, school staff, etc.) gave a damn about disciplining these kids.
re: Paulo's Post
I've seen these little sh**heads jump 2 people and take their bikes here in the Logan/Shaw neighborhood. They also attempted to "mug" a friend of mine who was walking home past the school. She refused to give up her purse and started screaming, they ran away.
I try to avoid them when I can, but sometimes I stop and chat with them. Who knows how one will react when this kind of thing happens, but I can say this, if those kids jump me for my bike, some of them are going to the hospital before they get home for dinner. I'm not gonna "shiv" anyone, but a broken arm or a dislocated jaw just might make them think twice.
For those of you who think this is harsh, see how you feel when you help an old guy with a bleeding skull up from the street after some kid has jumped him for his only means of transportation to and from work.
automatic paint ball gun. they hurt pretty bad, and ruin fashionably ghetto-fabulous threads...
They threw rocks at me on my motorcycle at 10th and V (riding through a pack of them getting out of Middle School) last week. I live in the area so I went home, got a sledgehammer and walked back up the street.
They ran.
Punks.
automatic paint ball gun. they hurt pretty bad, and ruin fashionably ghetto-fabulous threads...
...and then they respond with something loaded with ammo that's a bit more lethal than paint.
The thing is: the DCPD is ineffective. Ever wonder why crime spiked in NOLA under Ramsey's watch?
Very often, the DCPD reminds me of the Springfield Police Department in The Simpsons: the only time they actually prevent or solve a crime is by bumbling into one at the right time. In the case of the kids attacking cyclists, all it takes is for the DCPD to start gathering info: victim reports, eyewitness reports, community watch reports, etc. They can build a case from there via simple methodology.
In this case, I'm glad that Graham is doing something about it, rather than turning a blind eye or deaf ear. It's a shame that it had to percolate all the way up to CityPaper to do it, but it's something.
Gentrify the building, there won't be a brick issue with luxury condos there. Maybe wedges of gourmet cheese....
Why are the illustrations in the City Paper of white people throwing things at people on bikes?
Vigilantism doesn't have a great track record, despite being an understandable outgrowth of the frustration and fear that's going on.
Isn't they're a mayoral campaign starting to form up? Can't the DC Council (where the bulk of candidates reside) make things uncomfortable for Ramsey?
Start putting the people with the authority to do something about the problem under the same level of pressure that cyclists are who are trying to ride peaceably through the area.
I think some video footage of what it's like in the area, made available to local news agencies with the background of the failed efforts to get help from the city officials and police, would get a lot more changed then riding through with dreams of going Rambo.
I am all for vigilante justice. I bike through that area regularly, always with a rather large ball-peen hammer hanging from a belt loop. So far, it has been an effective deterrent. Some of us folks are tired of this shit. God forbid the day I get hit by something thrown at me. I am not afraid to exercise self defense. When the cops don't give a damn, which is obviously the case in this hood, then shit is bound to get nasty.
While rock-throwing shouldn't be tolerated, it's got to be hypocritical on the part of at least some people who are outraged at this incident. I mean, there's a lot of people who essentially use their cars, trucks, and SUVs as weapons against cyclists. And I guarantee you, getting beaned by an SUV is a lot more dangerous than getting beans by a rock!
This is a problem all over town... kids get out of school (specifically middle school) and menance the neighborhood because they've got no where to go and no one to supervise them.
What about putting the schools on a rotating schedule, where some kids start classes at 8am and get out at 3pm and other kids start at 8:30 and get out at 3:30, and the rest of the kids start at 9am and get out at 4pm. That would at least cut the number of hooligans hanging out in front of the 7-11, blocking the sidewalks and harassing the grown-ups at any given time by 2/3. Strength in numbers. Let's cut theirs.
This will not get solved until the kids throw rocks at the wrong person and that person comes back with a gun (or has one on him) and starts firing. Happened in Alt. a few years ago. Most likely will happen here ... well, unless we think the District's ban on guns actually keeps them away from the people who would do such things.
Here's yet another truly horrible incident, posted to the City Paper's blog:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/citydesk/2006/04/follow-that-story-another-reason-to.html
Yeah that's it...let's push the entire community out for the actions of a few kids...
gentrification as a method of vindication, geez can we say you are a pompous asshole!
I smell Israeli army all over you... did you not get your fill of shooting Palestinian stone throwing children?
You stink.
Yeah that's it...let's push the entire community out for the actions of a few kids...
gentrification as a method of vindication, geez can we say you are a pompous asshole!
I smell Israeli army all over you... did you not get your fill of shooting Palestinian stone throwing children?
You stink.
Why can't we just station a few officers on that pedestrian walkway for a couple hours every day?
How did this go from cyclists being assaulted to the "shooting of little Palestinian kids"?? That's a fucking hemp bag full of Utne Reader shiyte nonsense.
Arm yourselves now, and if some kids give you the remotest of shit, take aim and let them have it. Once the word gets out, they'll start running from The Man. (As if anyone riding a BICYCLE can be considered that.)
Tossing a piece of pain back at a citypunk who, if he's not stopped now, will be carjacking your Volkswagen and stealing your BootCamped laptop inside of five years, is probably the most good you can do.
I was "pseudo-mugged" in front of my house in broad daylight six months ago, at 9th and O in Shaw. A fifteen year old skinny black boy grabbed my arm and, brandishing NOTHING at me, demanded my money. I tossed him arm aside, shouted a couple "punk"s, and walked away, but now I wish I'd taught his scrawny ass a lesson.
DoesItMatter, pull your ninny head out of your lily @ss. I hate to sound like my child-beatin' grandfather, but - if you think you're not still a primate, you've got a couple of 1960s sociology professors to overcome.
I was waiting for someone to turn it around and make it the victims' fault. Thank you, mysterious poster, for finding a way to blame this on gentrification!
It seems that many people think the easy way to win an argument is to turn it into a debate about racism or gentrification. Pretty soon it will be like the boy cried wolf story where no one will believe it or care (even if true).
Sometimes it takes a bernard getz to set change in motion
These kids need to be stopped for their sakes as well as ours. If they are so emboldened and indifferent to pain as kids, where are they headed in their future? That's the deal with childhood: kid tries something stupid, gets caught and punished, and learns not to repeat it.
I guess DC police don't feel the kids or the victims are worth preventing or solving these assaults.
BTW, I have a dent on top of my car roof, so if you're not on your bike, you're still not safe.
These kids don't need an @sswhooping. They need love. Instead of stopping to shiv them, someone should stop and hug them.
By gum, you're right VC...I'm heading over there right now to get a drum circle and a kumbaya singalong started.
the kids do need love indeed. from their parents.
you, me, and the city dont need to be enabling that bullshit.
ninny head out of my ass....so intelligent of you
still the point remains, which you failed to address, gentrification is a stupid alternative to addressing the real issue, dickhead...
You Stink Too
DoesItMatter has it 100% right- I was sick of reading all of the people here saying "gentrification is the answer", or "gentrification is the magic beans that will sove all our problems", or "why can't we gentrify DC like Israel did with Palestinia?". Keep on fighting the windmill of oppression, brother.
If some snot-nosed punk throws a rock at me, he'll get it thrown right back at him, right before I U-lock his head to a parking meter.