WASHINGTON -

D.C. police will seal off entire neighborhoods, set up checkpoints and kick out strangers under a new program that D.C. officials hope will help them rescue the city from its out-of-control violence.

Under an executive order expected to be announced today, police Chief Cathy L. Lanier will have the authority to designate “Neighborhood Safety Zones.” At least six officers will man cordons around those zones and demand identification from people coming in and out of them. Anyone who doesn’t live there, work there or have “legitimate reason” to be there will be sent away or face arrest, documents obtained by The Examiner show.

Lanier has been struggling to reverse D.C.’s spiraling crime rate but has been forced by public outcry to scale back several initiatives including her “All Hands on Deck” weekends and plans for warrantless, door-to-door searches for drugs and guns.

Under today’s proposal, the no-go zones will last up to 10 days, according to internal police documents. Front-line officers are already being signed up for training on running the blue curtains.

Peter Nickles, the city’s interim attorney general, said the quarantine would have “a narrow focus.”

“This is a very targeted program that has been used in other cities,” Nickles told The Examiner. “I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it.”

Others are. Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the D.C. police union and a former lawyer, called the checkpoint proposal “breathtaking.”

Shelley Broderick, president of the D.C.-area American Civil Liberties Union and the dean of the University of the District of Columbia’s law school, said the plan was “cockamamie.”

“I think they tried this in Russia and it failed,” she said. “It’s just our experience in this city that we always end up targeting poor people and people of color, and we treat the kids coming home from choir practice the same as we treat those kids who are selling drugs.”

The proposal has the provisional support of D.C. Councilman Harry “Tommy” Thomas, D-Ward 5, whose ward has become a war zone.

“They’re really going to crack down on what we believe to be a systemic problem with open-air drug markets,” Thomas told The Examiner.

Thomas said, though, that he worried about D.C. “moving towards a police state.” http://www.theagitator.com/2008/06/04/police-state-dc/

For another news story about this. go here

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/DC_che...tate_0604.html


This is totall BS, WTF is going on??? How can they leaglly do this, so now apprently your not allowed rights ounce they put this lock down around your neighborhood??

Cop:Who are you?
Uhhm John

Cop:What are you doing here?
Uhhm walking my dog...

Cop: I demand to see your ID right now.
Okay... let me reach for my wallet
Cop: Hand goes to gun, pull it out slowly

Cop:You dont live or work in this neighborhood?
Uhhm no, just walking the dog, I live a couple blocks over...

Cop:Your not allowed here then, please leave immediately!!
What are you talking about, isn't this "Free America"? and isn't this a public road? Don't I have a legal right to freedom of movement?

Cop:Need back up for another crazy ass who thinks they have rights!!



Man, as a LEO I cannot stand crap like this.

Do I know who is a regular and who is not. You beat your ass I do. It's called Community Policing. I talk to folks about everything, what they drive, where they work, their hobbies, etc... it's called being friendly and getting to know folks. When someone comes into a neighborhood that does not belong there I will tail them and see what they're up to. If they're just stalking a area I take down their tag or description. Basically I get on their asses until they understand that I will not approve of what they're doing.

Criminals hunting for prey is obvious. But it's hard to make L&P. So in the end ride them long enough to make them stick out and they haul ass away.

What DC is doing is straight out of Cuba, Nazi Germany, or the Soviet Union.

How do they get away with this crap?

This is how they do it... Nickles told The Examiner. “I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it.”

I can't believe that the Citizens of DC aren't protesting this.

Myself as a LEO took an oath to uphold and protect the rights of the citizenry that I serve. By doing so that also means that I cannot violate their rights. DC is doing just that.

First it's a couple of check points with thyem asking for papers, next it's secret police and a gulag.

Sorry but in the United States of America, you have to right to freedom of movement on public roadways and land, you have a right to be secure on your person, and you have a right not to be asked for ID if a LEO just asks. (Supreme Court Ruling somewhat changed it. A LEO can ask for ID if the officer believes that the person is a suspect of a crime. But not just a everyday citizen walking down the street.)

Once again, Peter Nickles (Washington DC Attorney General) said and I quote "I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it."

The Attorney General is the High Law Enfocrment Offical of the Washington DC City Government.

D.C. has become a killing field. hmm.. maybe a gun ban in the city was the wrong thing to do?

Aahhh,... go on Luis, get with the program. Go on a mind bending power trip and tazer a few local kids just for laughs.

What is going on? They're trying to make America safe. You have no problem with checkpoints all over Iraq to make them safe, why not implement some here?

No doubt about it the gun ban in DC was wrong. No where in the USA should a gun ban ever be authorized. To impose a gun ban favors the criminals who do not obey the laws.
I for one think the police have their hands tied, the system definitely favors the criminals. I am not opposed to more aggressive police work. I figure if your not breaking the law this should not be a concern.

5.56, your arguments are strong and intelligent. However, with this new threat of terrorism that this country has never had prior to 11 Sept 2001, this type of stuff has to be authorized to our law enforcement personnel in order for them to thwart an attack before it happens. These types of checkpoints are a good example of being pro-active instead of waiting for another 3,000 Americans to get killed in less than an hour because we chose the route of only being re-active in our law enforcement approach.

DC was already pretty far gone. This is just another insult to the American people.

Originally Posted by AikiRooster

5.56, your arguments are strong and intelligent. However, with this new threat of terrorism that this country has never had prior to 11 Sept 2001, this type of stuff has to be authorized to our law enforcement personnel in order for them to thwart an attack before it happens. These types of checkpoints are a good example of being pro-active instead of waiting for another 3,000 Americans to get killed in less than an hour because we chose the route of only being re-active in our law enforcement approach.

I can agree with that if the cordon was being placed around a site that has some value as a terrorist target. I've got no problem with ID on demand at airports, train stations, goverment buildings no problem with a large LE presence there eithier.

What we are talking about here is a nieghborhood(s) and controlling movement in and and out for x amount of time. All in an attempt to stop illegal activity in a short amount of time. We both know that as soon as they move the focus of the enforcement that the rock slingers and bangers will move back in.

I'm going to have to go with 5.56 on this. From a local LEO standpoint this has far reaching ramifications on how your going conduct business after this brain-storm blows over.

When the solid citizen starts getting jacked up by uniforms every time they run to the corner market for a dozen eggs it's gonna sour them. The locals are gonna loose support. Especially if the officers used in the cordon are flown in on details from other precients or are a special unit with no stake in that nieghborhood after the op is done.

IMHO the chief is new and under the gun and this is a knee jerk watch this reaction that's gonna hurt in the long run. Not the suits but the street grunts.

True enough 03, makes sense to me too but the reality of the situation is that DC is the Capital of the country, so the whole city is or should be considered a terrorist target. Just because our Intel has not identified a specific threat doesn't mean it does not exist. After all, the red tape our Intel has to go through to the the authorization to get the proper surveillance they need makes the Intel's personnel job so hard that by the time they were authorized to listen in for example, the Intel they could get is a week to six months old perhaps? I understand we don't want to give an inch and then have them take a mile but at the same time, I don't really like the idea of being out and about and then have a plane plop down on top of me, or I hear a boom and little Timmy is in 3,ooo different pieces and starting to stink.

Then it needs a city wide permenant op. A roving op isn't gonna cut it and since it doesn't appear to aimmed at terrorists but a dealers and bangers I don't see how it's comparable to AT operations that are already being conducted in DC by FLEA's and Metro DC.

If Chief Lanier really wanted this to work instead of becoming the media nightmare it might become she'd study up on Community Policing. Better idea would be to train these officers in CP and flood the problem areas with units.

You realize this is standard policy in many parts of North Korea.

Truth is, I think the United States is losing its mind.
What the heck is going on over there?