D.C. Cops Suck Ass Part 8 Revisited Squared – The Investigator Needs Your Help & I Met the Sarge!

First, I despise linking to my own posts, but I have to. The Investigator who is handling the incident that transpired at the Dupont Dog Park is asking for your help. He left a comment on the last post in this ongoing situation with the following information:

URI : http://www.policecomplaints.dc.gov

Comment:
If anyone witnessed the events referenced in this post concerning the dog park at 17th and S Sts., NW, please contact the DC Office of Police Complaints at 202-727-3838 and ask for Investigator Curcio. Thank you.

I ran into the woman who this happened to, and she said that she had her meeting with Investigator Curcio Friday afternoon. I must admit, all of us were skeptical that a cohort of Juanita Graham was going to investigate this. But the victim was very impressed with how he handled everything and they are really pleased that they are being taken seriously. So, Investigator Curcio, we thank you for this.

Second, a little humor before I proceed into the next police diatribe, still related to this case. I’ve been alerted that there is more than one Velvet, stalking the streets and documenting police incompetence. I would like to franchise this operation and hire Velvet / Jimmy Justice’s in other cities. Any takers?

Finally, it seems that Juanita Graham, Badge 3183, has struck again. Last Saturday, she approached a man in the dog park who was alone and playing ball with his Golden Retriever and wrote him a ticket. When he said “Give me a fucking break,” she called in for backup. Six officers. SIX OFFICERS came to the dog park to help her. Are you people kidding? You still haven’t solved the Swann Street murder of a year ago, and this is how you choose to spend your time? Harassing civilians? After encouraging him to file a complaint, I decided to do a little investigating and visit the V Street station myself. My visit resulted in sending this letter out to the dog park email community:

All:

You may have heard recently or been a victim of harassment by a 3rd district police office with regard to your dog being off leash. After hearing that a woman was approached in the park by an officer who removed the leash from her dog just to justify writing a bogus ticket, then going further to accuse the woman of being a terrorist and not being legal in this country, many of us were outraged. Imagine though, that that same officer committed this offense again with another person in the dog park. The M.O. seems to be the same:

• Approach the dog owner when they are alone and have no witnesses.
• Exaggerate the dog owner’s reactions justifying the citation and/or call for backup.
• Telling the citizen they must have i.d. and are not to walk the streets without id. ·

In the spirit of full disclosure, the officer in question is Juanita Graham, badge number 3183. I believe she is targeting people, harassing them, and lying to justify her position. She appears to have a vendetta. Both victims I have spoken to felt targeted and discriminated against.

Many of you may know that I am no fan of the D.C. police. I have witnessed countless occasions where they block 17th Street during a.m. rush hour so they can go get coffee and chit chat with the workers in 7-11. I’ve had very unpleasant experiences where one officer blocked my car so he could go get breakfast, then when I asked him directly if it was his car (he was washing his hands behind the 7-11 counter) he looked away and would not answer my question. Anyone get the irony here that I’m trying to go to work so I can pay taxes to pay his salary and he’s blocking me in? I tried to file a complaint but, surprise, they had NO IDEA who the officer was.

I’ve been asked to attend the monthly police/citizen meetings. While admittedly I have not done this, it is because of my impression that the best officers show up and the problems are shuffled out or have that day off.

It’s enough. We pay taxes. We do not deserve this treatment. Today, I visited the V Street Station to talk with the boss of one officer Graham and other officers who may be on this rampage of harassing dog owners. My platform was simple:

I understand that we as dog owners are breaking the law when our dogs are off leash. I am not contesting that. I have an issue with officers targeting and harassing people when they are alone. The stories are the same, no one is in cahoots here, there is a problem with this officer. The dog park community is a strong one, and we are the eyes and ears of this community. Many of us are also on the lookout for crimes, reporting them as they happen, and with the exposure of being out with our dogs at least three times a day, the officers shouldn’t be making enemies of us. Finally, many officers have shown up at the dog park at peak attendance times to ask for information to help them solve their outstanding issues. If they continue to harass, we can suddenly stop helping the police too. If the dog park disbands, it will go back to being a haven for derelicts and drug users. Their choice.

Sargeant {redacted} is who I happened to speak with on my arrival. He listened as I made our case and had the glimmer of recognition and laugh when I said the name Juanita Graham. I’ve heard this is the standard reaction when this officer’s name is mentioned. That indicates to me that she is a problem.

Sargeant {redacted} provided me with his work and cell number. He is in charge of the area where the 17th and S park is, and told me several important things:

• There is NO INITIATIVE on the part of the D.C. Police to ticket dog owner’s with dogs off leash. If an officer decides to do it on their own, that is their own business, but this isn’t a new program of any sort.

• We DO NOT need to walk the streets with I.D. no matter what Officer Juanita Graham tells you or any other officer for that fact.

• Sargeant {redacted} prefers that you speak to him about any issues like this before filing a complaint. Officer Graham is off today, but he is going to speak to her tomorrow.

If you have a complaint or issue, we all should follow the same procedure when we file that complaint. If everyone does something different, they may not recognize there is a trend here and get to the officer(s) in question.

First, call Sargeant {redacted.} His work number is {redacted} and his cell is {redacted.} He is incredibly reasonable and wants to solve this problem.

If you cannot get in contact with him or are not happy with the result, file a complaint. You may file through various methods.

1. Visit the local station. V Street between 16th and 17th.
2. Call Office of Police Complaints (OPC) at (202) 727-3838.
3. Call the OPC 24 hour hotline (866) 588-0569.
4. Online at policecomplaints.dc.gov
5. Visit OPC at 1400 I (Eye) Street, Suite 700.

You may file anonymously and you may also file if you are a witness. You will be notified from both the department and the OPC when there is a result to their investigation. OPC only handles complaints of excessive force; harassment; use of conduct that is insulting, demeaning or humiliating; discrimination; retaliation for filing a complaint and the officer failing to wear ID or refusal to provide name, badge number when requested by a member of the public.

It is time to take the neighborhood back. Don’t let them get away with it anymore. File file file. Let’s get the bad officers off the streets.

If anyone has any questions, I’m happy to answer what I can and find out what I don’t know.

Obviously, if you need his name and cell, email me. The letter to the dog park folks generated some response and discussion. Someone, who has an ear in the community but who will not be “called out,” offered the following:

You can call me a Badge Licker if you want, but I have the official line:

There is an Internal Affairs investigation regarding that incident. Officer Juanita [Jones] is not assigned to Dupont but is in the 3^rd District. She drives through Dupont to get to her lower Shaw area. Sgt. Harris does have Dupont. Yes, there is no crack-down on dog laws. Lt. Dignan tells me that officers are asked to only enforce them when there has been an incident such as a biting. He is going to have a talk with Juanita Grahams lieutenant.

And my response to that?

You and I will never see eye to eye on this issue. I know that. But you have just said something very interesting.

If that officer Juanita Graham is NOT assigned to our neighborhood, but she comes down 17th street to get to Shaw, then I’m even more concerned. On my stupidest day, I would never leave the station at 1620 V, come to 17th, and drive south to get to Shaw, which is EAST of 11th Street, stopping to write citations on my very circuitous route to work. This proves harassment even more so. The woman is driving out of her way to come by a known dog park so she can write tickets. Come on.

I’ll come to the meeting next Tuesday and I invite anyone on this email to come with me. But, right now many of us have zero respect for that department. They need to handle this issue, and quickly at that. In the name of the goodwill of the community, Officer Graham needs to be made an example of. And by “made an example of,” I do NOT mean put on paid leave for a couple months, as tends to happen with the DCPD. Swift and immediate changes are in order. Graham should be fired. The rest of the police should band together and invite the citizens to the meeting Tuesday by coming to the dog park and talking to us about it, and fostering the goodwill themselves. They have to earn our respect. They don’t just get it because they wear blue uniforms and carry nightsticks and sometimes respond to 911 calls.

So, guess who is skipping her favorite class at the gym to go sit in this meeting on Tuesday night? Grumble grumble. If my ass gets fat, I’m going to blame the boys in blue for that! “Remember when I had to skip Mike’s class…”

Stay tuned. It took 8 installments of this series, but we’re finally getting somewhere.