Tasty Morning Bytes — Purging Black Officers, American-Muslim Identity Crisis, Sex Offender Rules

Good morning, DCentric readers. Below are the four stories we’re reading today. Have a link you’d like to share? Email us at dcentric@wamu.org.

Lawsuit Says Chief “Purged” MPD of Black Officers A police commander has accused D.C.’s Police Chief Cathy Lanier of “whitening” the police force. He claims in a lawsuit against Lanier that he was demoted without cause. Reporter Rend Smith also points out that the force remains majority black, although “the percentage has slowly been decreasing since the late 1990s.” (Washington City Paper)

Surging college costs price out middle class College is getting more expensive and the median income isn’t growing much. In fact, “if incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year.” In 2008, the median income was $33,000, so no, it’s not anywhere close enough to pay for college. Pile on the student loans! (CNN/Money)

Region resists fed sex offender rules The District is far from complying with a federal law requiring jurisdictions to create sex offender registries. Could D.C. end up a haven for violent offenders? Critics say yes, while D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson says that “sounds like rhetoric to me.” Youth advocates point out that the rule keeps juvenile offenders on the list for 25 years, which could make families feel reluctant to report abuses. (Washington Examiner )

Under suspicion: American Muslims search for identity 10 years after Sept. 11 The Washington Post has begun its multi-part series examining the lives of American Muslims. In this first story, Marc Fisher speaks with families living in the D.C.-area, writing, “Osama bin Laden is dead, but his legacy colors the lives of the estimated 2.4 million American Muslims every day. Some have reacted to a decade of stares, cutting comments, airport humiliations and disturbing incidents of homegrown terrorism by drifting away from their religion, some by deepening their faith, and a few by turning to the very extremism that sparked the mistrust they encounter.” (The Washington Post)