Three teens and an adult detained by plainclothes Park Police officers at the National Mall for selling water. (Photo via Twitter)

Three teens and an adult were handcuffed by plainclothes U.S. Park Police officers on the National Mall for selling water on Thursday evening.

U.S. Park Police spokesperson Anna Rose confirms that four individuals were detained on the National Mall for “illegally vending” around 5 p.m., and were released without charge.

Tour guide and former D.C. delegate candidate Tim Krepp saw the scene as it unfolded and took pictures, which he posted to Twitter.

Krepp says he was walking down Jefferson Drive SW when he saw “several guys standing around and a bunch of kids on the ground … I asked one of the guys who was handcuffed what happened, and he said, ‘We’re just selling water.'”

He says that the officers were patting down the four individuals, going through their pockets and checking their IDs. When Krepp left the scene, they were still being detained.

“If you read my tweets, you know how frustrated I am by lack of water infrastructure and hospitality infrastructure on the National Mall,” says Krepp. “It pisses me off seeing [Park Police] willing to throw resources at arresting black kids for selling water.”

The temperature yesterday by the National Mall was in the high-80s, per the National Weather Service.

Krepp’s tweet has gone viral, so far garnering nearly 8,000 retweets and counting. One Twitter user, Dave Farley, pointed out that the Park Police has been reminding people to stay hydrated on its account last week.

“Water sellers are feature of the Mall when it gets hot out, and thank God they are,” says Krepp. “It’s a dollar well spent some days … You see ambulances all the time there for people who didn’t hydrate.”

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, the chairman of the judiciary and public safety committee, sent a letter on Friday to Park Police Chief Robert MacLean requesting a review of the incident.

“I can’t help but think how the reaction by these same officers might have varied if different children had set up a quaint hand-painted lemonade stand on the same spot,” the letter says. “While still the same violation of selling a beverage without proper permits and licenses, I doubt we would have seen little girls in pigtails handcuffed on the ground … I don’t believe the image of young African-American men handcuffed on the ground for selling bottled water is a reflection of my city.”

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton wants to meet with Park Police as well.

Updated with letter from Charles Allen and tweet from Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Filed Under: national mall, park police, selling water, tim krepp,