Photo by Amber Wilkie.

Photo by Amber Wilkie.

Updated with comment from Chairman Mendelson and Coucilmember Jack Evans.

The D.C. Council’s Judiciary Committee rejected an amendment to Chairman Kenyan McDuffie’s crime bill that would have stiffened penalties for crimes that occur on public transportation as well as in public parks and recreation centers.

The amendment mirrored a measure in Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Safer, Stronger D.C. legislation.

“The data does not support what the mayor puts forward and Mr. Evans supports,” McDuffie said. He said that crimes occurring on the street should be taken just as seriously as those on Metro, and that residents should have the expectation of safety everywhere.

But Evans says that people have a “higher expectation of safety” on public transportation.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson agreed with McDuffie, though. “Decades of research shows that longer penalties do not deter crime,” he said. “It feels good…but the effect just isn’t there.”

That Mendelson was speaking and voting at the Judiciary Committee hearing was controversial in itself, with Evans calling it “unusual” and “unprecedented.” Mendelson was sitting in for Ward 8 Councilmember LaRuby May, and continued to participate after she arrived. “I was there when those rules were made,” Evans told DCist. “It wasn’t contemplated that a chair would come to a meeting with a full quorum and thwart the will of the majority. I think he abused his authority. It’s outrageous what he did today.”

But Mendelson doubts it. “That’s false. He’s the longest-serving councilmember, but was he serving 40 years ago? The rule dates back to the beginning of the council. I’ve been to mark-ups many times. It’s not an issue unless you lose a vote and want to complain about it.”

Mendelson’s director of communications, Lindsey Walton, adds that “Evans’ characterization is not correct. The law is clear that the chair has the right to be there. He was not there in place of anyone.”

Mendelson cast the deciding vote against Evans’ amendment, which failed 3 to 3, with Evans, May, and At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds voting in favor.

Evans claims that McDuffie called Mendelson to attend the meeting “because he knew I had the votes. He wouldn’t start the meeting until Phil got there. You put two and two together.”

Mendelson told DCist that he attended at McDuffie’s request yesterday, but it had nothing to do with votes. “He was worried about quorum,” says Mendelson.

McDuffie’s office has not responded to a request for comment.

Both Evans and Bonds spoke to the symbolic value of the amendment during the hearing. “What this does is send a message that we take [Metro crime] seriously…whether or not it results in larger punishments.” This past year, a number of high-profile assaults and crimes occurred on the Metro. Evans sits on the Metro Board of Directors, and will likely be its new chairman.

“You can pull up all the data you want, and I can pull up data that says the opposite,” Evans told DCist. “Say there is no evidence that it will change punishments. Then why not just go for it? My point is we want to send a message.”

McDuffie pointed out that other enhancements for crime punishment haven’t been used by judges. “If we’re gonna act, let’s act in a smarter fashion.”

Mendelson says that sending a message is “not an effective way to reduce crime. If the Metro Board is serious about reducing crime they will look at the effectiveness of police response times and other proven solutions.”

Evans told DCist that the vote shows that the chair is “anti-police and soft on crime. That’s Phil and I guess it’s McDuffie, too.”

Mendelson says his record shows otherwise. “I chaired the Judiciary Committee for eight years. During those eight years, crime went down, closure rates went up, resources to police went up, and the number of officers went up. I can’t respond to something like that from someone who just lost a vote,” he says.

Meanwhile, McDuffie has become one of Bowser’s frequent opponents on the Council, from her accusations that his committee is taking too long on her Safer, Stronger D.C. legislation to his initial opposition to her police body-worn camera policy.

Filed Under: Judiciary Committee, metro, Safer Stronger D.C.,