Over the last few days, MPD officers have been spotted standing at the corner of 14th and Irving Streets NW ticketing people for jaywalking. We saw them at about 5 p.m. yesterday and received emails saying they were out on Wednesday as well. One bystander said she saw police stop one guy crossing against the light when no cars were around: "he had his headphones on and was crossing the street and the cop chased......

The Inaugural Parade has seen more than its fair share of controversy over the last few years. In 2001, a few protesters scuffled with police, resulting in six arrests. In 2005, D.C. police were accused by the ACLU of making false arrests and indiscriminately using pepper spray during the inauguration festivities. This past March, a federal court ruled that the park service had violated the First Amendment by preventing war protesters from getting near the......

Community organizers from the 5th District Citizens' Advisory Council, the Ward 4 Education Council, the Eastland Gardens Civic Association, the Council of Churches of Greater Washington-Social Action Committee, and the DC Federation of Civic Associations have put together something they're calling a "City-Wide Community Meeting on Crime" tonight from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. They're urging residents from all over the city to come together to "stand up and speak out," and say they've invited......

The Metropolitan Police Department sent around a flyer today with this photo of Felipe Antonio Caceres, asking the community for their help in locating him. Caceres is the father of 12-year-old Marisol Caceres, who was found dead earlier this week in at apartment at 60 Hawaii Avenue NE. The flyer emphasizes that Caceres is missing, that he is wanted for questioning only [emphasis theirs], and that he "should be approached with caution as he may......

WTOP's Mark Segraves discovered that a veteran MPD officer is being investigated for fraud due to allegedly being paid $200,000 in improper overtime. The officer had to hand in her badge and gun and has been reassigned to desk duty during the investigation, but she's still on the payroll. The investigation into her time sheets has been handed over to the U.S. Attorney's office. This story reminds us that excessive overtime has long been a......

AlertDC sent out word at 4:04 p.m. of some undefined "MPD activity" going down at 3460 14th St. NW. 14th St. is shut down from Monroe St. to Spring Rd. NW. From the looks of the alert it sounds like it may be a suspicious package -- EOD, or Explosive Ordinance Disposal, is also on the scene, as well as DDOT's Roadway Operations Patrol. We're trying to get more details, will update when we do.......

Residents watch the police checkpoint in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood on Saturday, June 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) We balked at the initial news that the Metropolitan Police Department planned to throw up barriers and checkpoints in certain D.C. neighborhoods experiencing excessive violent crime. Later, when we learned the details of the first case, the week-long checkpoint that was established in Trinidad, the MPD's plan appeared to be both constitutionally dubious and potentially not......

Can you say Police State? The Examiner has the scoop on a controversial new program announced today that would create so-called "Neighborhood Safety Zones" which would serve to partially seal off certain parts of the city. D.C. Police would set-up checkpoints in targeted areas, demand to see ID and refuse admittance to people who don't live there, work there or have a “legitimate reason” to be there. Wow. Just, wow. Some of the words used......

It seems that we read a lot of stories like Jonathan Lieber's. Long story short: Mr. Lieber, who was being accosted at gunpoint, attempted to flee through the intersection at 13th and Euclid NW, collided with a car, and — after receiving his stitches — was presented with a $50 ticket for causing the accident. Additionally, the police report erroneously placed fault for his split lip on Lieber himself. But with some new technology, these......

WTOP's Mark Segraves has the scoop that interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has advised Police Chief Cathy Lanier that she may legally fire the 17 officers (though Segraves now says it was 20 officers -- that's first time we've seen that number) she was forced to rehire. Lanier has reportedly already begun the process of terminating the officers again, who were originally fired for violations ranging from lying to get time off to posting......

Earlier this week the Metropolitan Police Department announced its latest phone number that might help it solve crime: 1-888-919-CRIME is a toll free tip line that will be staffed by detectives around the clock. The new number should not be confused with 311 or 911, however, which are of course already fairly confusing. The MPD says this new number should be used to make anonymous tips to the police about homicides, gangs, guns, or other......

The Washington Times has the story this morning on how the District government is handing over the keys to a network of 5,200 closed-circuit cameras to the Metropolitan Police Department. The cameras are normally used to monitor traffic, schools and public housing, and in addition to the 92 crime cameras police already monitor in high-crime neighborhoods, will give D.C. one of the largest surveillance networks of any major city in the United States. The initiative,......

The Post is reporting that an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer shot a man who was attempting to rob him at a gas station in Northeast early this morning. A police spokesperson told the paper the shooting took place at around 12:30 a.m. at 905 Brentwood Rd. NE, though it seems like the gas station in question actually has to be the Lowest Price Gas Station at 925 Brentwood Rd. NE, as no gas station appears......

A while back, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced she wanted to start a book club of sorts, and now, the date of the book club discussion has been finalized. On Thursday, May 1, at a location yet to be determined, the Chief will host a public discussion of pop-sociology books The Tipping Point and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Sadly, the invitation doesn't make it seem like the Chief necessarily wants to keep the book......

The Metropolitan Police Department has recovered a historic booking log that is one of the first written records of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Call Nicholas Cage, and alert the Masons! Could this be a real live Book of Secrets? From the Examiner:Local lore has it that in the 1960s or ’70s, someone found the book in a police trash bin with other discarded files. The book circulated among retired police officers for years,......

Via NBC4, we learn that police are searching for a missing D.C. woman. Blanche Jones, 62, was last seen at about noon on Wednesday leaving her home in the 1400 block of Minnesota Ave. SE. She is described as a medium-complexioned black woman with brown eyes and gray hair. She is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds. Police said she was last seen wearing a blue coat, a light-colored blouse and......

Two interesting stories today on the current state of the Metropolitan Police Department. The Washington Times reports that MPD Chief Cathy Lanier says she's going to stick with her All Hands on Deck policing strategy, which periodically puts every officer on duty over the course of a weekend. There were five All Hands on Deck weekends in 2007, and Lanier said she would continue them until the department can hire more officers. Lanier told the......