DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are some links for a rainy Thursday.

D.C. mayor: National Zoo stabbing shows need for more police agency coordination Several fights at the zoo, two stories about how they were handled. Did the zoo police know one of the teens it ejected was armed? They say no, MPD says yes: “After one such fight, D.C. police say, zoo police officers removed several teens, and a teen was stabbed four times in the chest on Connecticut Avenue NW…It was unclear why zoo police decided to eject the youths from the zoo rather than arrest them or whether they knew one had a knife, as D.C. police allege he did.” (The Washington Post)

Economy Drives Increase in Homeless Count “High rates of unemployment among minorities, foreclosures, the rising cost of rent, utilities and fuel and extreme budget cuts are behind a rise in the area’s homeless population, local homeless advocates say. An upcoming report by the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments indicates the Washington region’s homeless has increased to 11,988 persons, mostly among families and African Americans, and that’s largely due to the hobbled economy.” (afro.com)

Anti-Police Sentiments Rage On In Southeast DC Plain clothes officer who was part of unit tasked with getting guns off the streets killed Rafael Briscoe when the teen ran from them with a BB gun: “The shooting has sparked outrage among community members who held a vigil for Briscoe Wednesday evening. Neighbors who live in the area are now turning their frustration at the police, claiming Briscoe was shot in the back and never threatened the officer. Cherie Smith, Briscoe’s grandmother, said, “The police senselessly shot and killed my grandson, and they are making up all kinds of excuses for them doing it.”" (WUSA Washington, DC)

D.C. police need to clear up muddle over escorts for celebrities WAMU commentator Robert McCartney probes controversy around giving uniformed police escorts to people already privileged with fame, wealth: “”Even after it dies down as a silly celebrity situation, it’s a serious issue for the people of the District of Columbia. Why is our money going for this? And it poses a danger to people” if escorts travel at high speeds or otherwise break traffic laws, (Mara) Verheyden-Hilliard said. It would be even more serious if supervisors were regularly approving such escorts in violation of policy. It wasn’t reassuring when they issued seemingly contradictory comments on the Sheen case.” (The Washington Post)

D.C. students to test ID card transit passes About 16,000 kids use subsidized rail and bus passes to get to school because D.C. doesn’t have school buses: “Students will not be limited in the hours they can use the passes on Metro, despite an idea floated earlier this year…Metro board members discussed limiting the passes in response to a crime report showing that juveniles made up one-fourth of all arrests by the transit agency last year. Crime spiked on the transit system, with assaults and robberies of smartphones on the rise.” (Washington Examiner )

Last D.C. youth who escaped from S.C. in custody “Officials say the last of four D.C. youths who escaped from a private treatment facility in South Carolina has been taken into custody. The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services says the youth was captured Wednesday by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force…The task force is made up of several state and local law enforcement agencies, including the D.C. police department and the U.S. Marshals Service.” (Washington Times)