It’s understandable that the Metropolitan Police Department would be frustrated that a robbery suspect whom they have arrested three times has been continually released with little reason. But does that frustration warrant an email carpet bomb of newly confirmed D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles?

The Post reported yesterday that Inspector Edward Delgado asked recipients on the 3rd District Substation listserv to send emails to Nickles asking him not to release a juvenile who is allegedly responsible for a string of 21 robberies. Delgado urged residents via email (a full copy of which can be found after the jump), to “[f]lood the email system today because time is critical in this matter.” Nickles received almost fifty emails about the arrest, but admits that he simply “told [his] secretary to put them in a pile.”

The story represents both the pros and cons of authorities using the Internet to disseminate community information. On the whole, D.C. policing is much better due to the increased lines of communication between police and the community — and most of the reaction on the listserv itself has been positive, with residents saying things like “[l]ooks like Mr. Peter Nickles is hopping mad about all of the e-mails he has received. I don’t care.”

Photo by Sanjay Suchak.