News

JUST IN: Arlington Police Chief to Retire in September

By ARLnow.com

After previously announcing his intention to retire by the end of the year, Arlington County Police Chief M. Jay Farr is now making it official.

Farr announced today that he will retire just before Labor Day, on Friday, Sept. 4.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents, businesses, and visitors of Arlington County,” Farr said in a press release this morning. “I am incredibly proud of our officers and their efforts to maintain a high level of public safety across our community.”

Farr was named police chief in May 2015. He has presided over a department that has largely kept crime levels and allegations of police misconduct low, despite recruitment challenges, population growth and tight budgets.

More recently, however, the department has seen an uptick in crime, an increase in complaints about police conduct, and calls for police reform amid local and national protests.

The County has convened a new “Police Practices Group” to “ensure that the Arlington County Police Department is current with policing best practices and continue to build trust between our police and the community.” The group is expected to start meeting in August.

Arlington is launching a national recruitment effort, with a goal of hiring a new police chief, either in late December or in 2021.

The full County press release about Farr’s retirement is below.

Police Chief Murray “Jay” Farr announced that he would retire on September 4th, after serving in the Arlington County Police Department for 30 years. Chief Farr has provided leadership as Arlington’s Chief of Police since May of 2015.  During his time as Chief, he has focused on community engagement, transportation safety, and crime prevention & control.  Chief Farr also launched the Arlington Restaurant Initiative, a partnership between the County, businesses and the community to offer a safe destination for nightlife and entertainment.  “It has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents, businesses, and visitors of Arlington County”, stated Chief Farr. “I am incredibly proud of our officers and their efforts to maintain a high level of public safety across our community.”

County Manager Mark Schwartz noted that “Chief Farr has provided outstanding leadership and has been instrumental in advancing community policing across Arlington County.”

In addition to his role as Chief of Police, he served in a variety of positions in the Arlington Police Department, including assignments as, Deputy Chief of Police for Systems Management, Operations, and Criminal Investigations. He also served as Arlington County Acting Deputy County Manager. He has also been an active member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, serving as the Chair of the Police Chief Committee.

“On behalf of all County Board members, I want to thank Chief Farr for his years of exemplary service in one of the toughest jobs, Chief of Police. Jay has guided our police force into 21st Century community policing”, noted County Board Chair Libby Garvey.  “He has made ACPD one of the most respected police departments in the region and positioned us well to work with our community as we transition into the next era of policing and public safety that makes everyone feel safe.”

Prior to joining the ACPD in 1990, Chief Farr worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service where he conducted complex criminal investigations concerning fraud against the United States government. He is also a U.S. Marine veteran, where he served with the Presidential helicopter unit.

Chief Farr earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from George Mason University. He has participated in advanced educational programs at the Naval Post Graduate School Center for Defense and Homeland Security, the FBI National Academy, and the Senior Institute for Police Management, a collaborative program with Boston University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.  Chief Farr serves as an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, where he teaches a curriculum of criminal justice and emergency management for law enforcement.  He is also a graduate of Leadership Arlington

National Recruitment for New Police Chief

The Arlington County Manager will be launching a national recruitment effort for a new Chief of Police this fall.  Initial steps will seek input from the community and there will be no final decision until sometime after the work of the newly formed Police Practice Group (PPG) is completed in December.

Latest Coronavirus Data Paints Mixed Picture in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) Arlington is averaging just over a dozen new coronavirus cases per day over the past week, a relatively low number, but one set against the backdrop of rising cases in other parts of the state.

The county’s seven-day moving average ticked up this morning, with 16 new cases reported overnight by the Virginia Dept. of Health. Arlington’s test positivity rate, however, is pointing down: it’s now 3.9%, as the seven-day moving average of daily tests climbs to 376.

Encouragingly, no new COVID-related deaths have been reported in Arlington over the past week and only one new hospitalization has been reported over the same time period.

A University of Virginia model published last week included Arlington among jurisdictions — about a third of health districts in the Commonwealth — with a surge in COVID-19 cases. That model, however, appears to have been based on data from when new cases were still on the rise in the county.

The latest numbers show that Arlington still has community spread, but the epidemic is being held in check at the moment. That is also largely the case for Northern Virginia as a whole, with new daily cases remaining relatively steady — minus a spike in cases reported today.

Outside of Northern Virginia, however, the state has a rising epidemic, with new cases continuing to climb. That prompted a warning from Gov. Ralph Northam over the weekend.

“We will be watching the public health data closely over the weekend — if the numbers don’t come down, we may have to take additional steps to blunt the spread of this virus,” Northam said Saturday, as quoted by InsideNova.

Statewide, 1,505 new cases were reported overnight — the highest daily total since May 26 and Virginia’s second highest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Getting $10K Tourism Grant — “‘Arlington will use [state tourism] grant funds to showcase outdoor adventures in an urban setting to East Coast road trippers,’ said [Arlington Convention and Visitors Service] Director Emily Cassell. In addition… ACVS will commission a photography and video shoot to expand its collection of images reflecting the County’s cultural diversity.” [Arlington County]

Marymount Signs Mutual Aid Agreement — “Marymount University has become a member of the National Intercollegiate Mutual Aid Agreement (NIMAA), one of more than 100 signatory institutions across the nation that pledge to support each other in the event of a natural disaster or civil emergency.” [InsideNova]

USA Today Editor Recalls Racism in Arlington — A top former USA Today editor recalls, in an opinion column, how he was pulled over multiple times by an Arlington police officer in the mid-1980s. The traffic stops appeared to be the result of racial discrimination and intimidation. “I stopped going into Arlington proper,” the editor says of the impact of the incidents on him. “It was a small sacrifice, but it’s one of those things that you sometimes have to do when you’re black in America.” [Hot Springs Sentinel-Record]

Flickr pool photo by Vincent

DEVELOPING: Protesters Blocking Key Bridge, Rosslyn Intersection

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:20 p.m.) A small group of peaceful protesters marched over the Key Bridge from Georgetown and blocked traffic in Rosslyn tonight.

The group blocked the intersection of N. Lynn Street and Lee Highway around 10 p.m., according to police radio traffic. They then marched back to the bridge, where they are currently blocking traffic.

Police earlier blocked all lanes of the Key Bridge due to the protest activity. The demonstration is being organized by a group called Concerned Citizens, which also marched in Georgetown Saturday night.

As of 10:30 p.m., the bridge had reopened.

https://twitter.com/seuntheactivist/status/1287561248138317826

Arlington NAACP Calls for Removal of Police Stationed at Schools

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The Arlington branch of the NAACP says School Resource Officers should be removed by Arlington Public Schools.

SROs are sworn Arlington County Police officers who are stationed in schools. In addition to providing added security, an SRO “mentors, educators and coaches” for students, the police department says.

In a statement, however, Arlington NAACP President Julius Spain, Sr. said that police should not be in schools when arrest statistics show Black and Latino kids being disproportionately charged with crimes.

We made this decision after nearly a year of data-driven research led by our Education Committee with input from our Criminal Justice and Political Action Committees. The data shows stark disparities in the percentage of Black and Latino juveniles arrested and sentenced to detention relative to their population in the county. In addition, there was extensive collaboration and discussion with families and key leaders in the community, including law enforcement officials, elected leaders, and social advocacy groups. Moreover, this decision brings the branch into closer alignment with priorities at the national level of the NAACP. The Executive Committee agreed that it is time for APS to consider alternative approaches. For example, SRO’s could be replaced with more counselors, mental health professionals, social workers and nurses and relationships with trusted adults can be fostered by staff within each school.

The latest ACPD annual report describes the SRO program as having a positive impact on students.

School Resource Officers (SROs) are certified by the Department of Criminal Justice Services through a specialized training course and complete additional training on early childhood development, active shooter response, crisis intervention, CPR and TEC-C emergency medical care. SROs engage with students in the classroom throughout the year to teach lessons about interacting with police and the legal system, as well as relevant crime prevention information. They also work collaboratively with substance abuse counselors to educate both students and parents on the effects and recognition of substance abuse.

In addition to their presence in the schools as educators and to ensure the safety of staff and students, the SROs are engaged in extracurricular activities and sports at many schools — serving as coaches, reading mentors and club advisors. In 2019, Detective McGuire led the Hamm Middle School Girl’s Soccer Team to an undefeated season and Detective Blow was named Everybody Wins DC’s Mentor of the Year for Arlington Public Schools.

ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the department “is preparing for the upcoming school year and will be meeting with Dr. Durán, the new Superintendent.”

Spain told ARLnow that the branch deliberated about SROs “for nearly a year,” and the Executive Committee vote last night to recommend removal was not unanimous.

“We don’t take it lightly,” he said.

The branch anticipates sending formal recommendations to Arlington Public Schools “in the coming weeks.”

JUST IN: Arlington Startup CEO Facing Federal Fraud Charges

By ARLnow.com

A once high-flying Arlington startup is now at the center of a federal fraud case.

Trustify, a Crystal City-based technology firm that provided an online marketplace for private investigations, went bankrupt last year. Just two years prior to that, the company moved into a swanky new office and was touted by the governor’s office for its plan to create 184 new jobs in Arlington.

Now, federal prosecutors are charging CEO and co-founder Danny Boice with investment fraud, saying he bilked investors out of millions of dollars while overstating the company’s financial performance.

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia:

The CEO and co-founder of Trustify Inc. (Trustify), a privately-held technology company founded in 2015 and based in Arlington, Virginia, was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his alleged role in a fraud scheme resulting in millions of dollars of losses to investors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant Director in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Daniel Boice, 41, of Alexandria, Virginia, was charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and two counts of money laundering.

The indictment alleges that, beginning in 2015, Boice fraudulently solicited investments in Trustify, a privately-held technology start-up company that connected customers with private investigators.  Boice allegedly raised approximately $18.5 million from over 90 investors by, among other things, falsely overstating Trustify’s financial performance.  The indictment also alleges that Boice made false statements to investors about the amount of investor funds that he would personally receive, while diverting a substantial amount of the investor money to his own benefit.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provided assistance and is also filing a civil complaint against the defendant for related conduct.  Trial Attorney Blake Goebel of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Carlberg of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.  The department would also like to thank the Virginia State Corporation Commission for its assistance.

Individuals who believe they may be a victim in this case should contact the Victim Witness Services Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at 703-299-3700 for more information.

Trustify co-founder Jennifer Mellon, who was also married to Boice, received a federal appointment as the company went belly-up. She is not named in the indictment.

In an ARLnow profile in 2017, Boice discussed why the internet was great for the private investigation business, saying that it “provides the perfect catalyst for puffing up your Facebook profile or LinkedIn or lying about not being in a relationship when you’re on Tinder, all those things.”

“The internet makes a great accelerator for dishonesty,” said Boice.

Yard Waste Collection Is Still Suspended, But Homeowners Will Be Getting a Credit

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s yard waste collection service has been suspended since May, and there’s still no word as to when it might resume.

There is a bit of a silver lining, though: those who receive curbside collection — mostly single-family homeowners — will be getting an account credit for the lack of service, once it resumes. The county made that announcement today.

The credit will only be enough to buy a couple of lattes from one’s favorite cafe, however: just under $3 per month.

Yard waste collection service was suspended due to increased trash collection volume and staffing issues experienced by the county’s contractor. During the suspension, the county has been offering free yard waste drop-off at two locations, as well as curbside brush and tree limb service.

The suspension has led to a bit of entrepreneurship: some local high school students have facilitating the drop-off of yard waste for a fee of $5 per bag or $20 per green bin, while advertising their services on local listservs and social networks.

More from Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services:

The County will be issuing a yard waste credit to the Household Solid Waste Rate once curbside collection is restored. Yard waste collection has been temporarily suspended since mid-May due to contractor staffing issues related to COVID-19. A date for service restoration is still unknown.

Yard waste collection and disposal accounts for $2.95 of the $26.58 (FY21) monthly Household Solid Waste Rate.

We know that suspension of yard waste collection,  especially during the spring and summer months, has been frustrating to many residents and appreciate your understanding during this challenging time. The County offers two yard waste drop-off centers for grass/leaves/vines, available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Curbside collection of larger yard waste material  like brush and limbs remains available by appointment only.

Our Solid Waste crews have been working every day since the pandemic began to maintain essential trash and recycling service while dealing with the challenges we all are facing. We hope to return to normal service as soon as possible.

An update will be provided once we have restored yard waste service and the County is able to calculate the full credit amount and expenses.

New Elevator Coming to Pentagon City Metro Station

By ARLnow.com
1/4

Arlington County has taken an initial step towards the construction of a new elevator for the Pentagon City Metro station.

At a recent meeting, the County Board approved a nearly $750,000 contract with a construction consultancy to manage construction of a new elevator near the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall. The new elevator will provide an alternative to an existing Metro elevator on the eastern side of the street, which will also receive some upgrades as part of the $5.1 million project.

“The second elevator will be built on the west side of South Hayes Street, eliminating the need to cross six lanes of traffic, two parking lanes, and a bike lane to reach the existing elevator on the east side,” Arlington County said in a press release. “It will improve ADA accessibility and accessibility for passengers pushing strollers or luggage.”

Funding for the project “comes from federal and state sources and includes $200,000 in General Obligation bond funds, which are used as a local match for a federal grant,” the county said.

Bidding for the actual construction is expected to take place early next year.

More from a project webpage:

The Pentagon City Metrorail Station is one of the highest ridership Metro stations in northern Virginia. It provides access to multiple retail, government and commercial office buildings and is a transfer point for regional and local transit buses and numerous private bus services. Currently, passengers needing to use a street elevator to access the station must enter or exit on the east side of South Hayes Street.

Construction of a second elevator on the west side of South Hayes Street, near the existing west side escalator, will improve access for patrons making transit connections and for Pentagon City retail customers and tourists. It also will provide redundancy for this station entrance when one elevator is out of service for any reason. The project includes improving the appearance of the existing elevator on the east side of South Hayes Street to make it look more contemporary and visible to customers.

Photos via Arlington County and Google Maps

EXCLUSIVE: Arlington County Considering Further Encrypting Police Communications

By ARLnow.com

Amid a national protest movement calling for police reform, the Arlington County Police Department launched an effort to consider ways to further restrict public access to law enforcement radio communications.

Unlike D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, which encrypts all but one channel, Arlington’s police channels have been mostly open to public monitoring — by those with scanners or smartphone apps — with the exception of some devoted to sensitive operations. That may be about to change.

“A radio workgroup has been established to review our current practices to ensure they are aligned with procedures that protect the privacy of involved parties, ensure the integrity of operations and investigations, and reduce the unintentional disclosure of tactical information,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. The workgroup started its work in June.

“We regularly review our technology needs and the workgroup has been reviewing radio practices for about a month,” she said last week.

The workgroup’s existence had not been previously reported. The revelation comes after ARLnow — which monitors police and fire department frequencies — noticed several weeks ago that we were no longer able to hear radio traffic on ACPD 1B, a commonly-used channel.

Savage said that 1B has been encrypted “for years,” so it’s not clear how ARLnow had been previously able to monitor it with consumer radio equipment. Typical communications on the channel included brief updates on minor police incidents from officers in the field to supervisors.

ACPD 1A, the main police dispatch channel, is unencrypted, as is 1C, a channel typically used by officers to communicate with one another during more significant incidents.

In a statement sent to ARLnow, County Manager Mark Schwartz said that 1A will likely to remain open, but said “no final decisions have been made” about secondary channels.

We encrypt some secondary public safety radio communications to maintain the integrity of the investigation, ensure we don’t unintentionally share tactical information, and safeguard the privacy of those involved (including name, social security number, birth date, etc.). We regularly review our technology needs and practices to align with best practices. There is a regional plan to encrypt public safety (police, fire, EMS) operating channels. Several agencies in the region have already implemented encryption and everyone is moving in that direction.  This review is unrelated to any current events involving law enforcement.

There is no plan to limit public access to the Police Department’s primary radio channel, 1A, where calls for service are dispatched to officers. Our Police Department remains committed to transparency and shares information related to criminal incidents through the Daily Crime Report, Online Crime Map, Open Data Portal and press releases. We also use Arlington Alert to provide emergency notifications in the event of a public safety threat to the community. The work group is evaluating which, if any, additional secondary channels may be encrypted; however, no final decisions have been made.

Late last year, Arlington County started disabling public traffic camera feeds during routine crashes and other incidents, similarly citing privacy concerns.

Scanners are mostly used by media outlets and hobbyists. While dispatch channels are useful for alerting media to significant incidents, it’s harder to suss out the routine incidents that may have news value without hearing updates from officers on scene via secondary channels. Also lost are things like road closures and small details that can be a jumping off point for other reporting.

ARLnow broke the story of ACPD officers assisting Park Police near the White House, for instance, in part because of scanner activity.

Concerns about operational security and personal privacy due to open police channels are addressed, at least in part, by current practices. ACPD currently has secure channels that cannot be monitored, private messages are often sent via the mobile computer system in every police cruiser, and officers will routinely arrange cell phone calls to relay sensitive information that is best not transmitted over the public airwaves.

ARLnow is not aware of any incident over the past 10 years in which a police operation in Arlington was disrupted as a result of someone using a police scanner.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Dorsey’s Union Check ‘Lost in the Mail’ — “The $10,000 donation that cost Metro board member Christian Dorsey his position was returned to the agency’s largest union five months ago, but the check was never cashed — because it was lost in the mail, Dorsey and the union said.” [Washington Post]

Opioid Overdoses Rise in Arlington — “Since the start of the year, nine individuals have recovered from opioid overdoses following the deployment of Nasal Naloxone (also known as Narcan) by responding officers. This comes as the number of police investigated incidents involving opioids begins to rise, with fatal incidents now surpassing those reported in 2019.” [Arlington County]

Crash in Crystal City Last Night — “ACPD on scene of an overturned vehicle and downed tree on Route 1 at 20th Street S. Two people self-extricated from the vehicle, reported to be a black Mercedes.” [Twitter]

Arlington Man Facing Child Porn Charges — “An Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigation by federal, state and local agencies has resulted in the arrest of an Arlington man. Detectives arrested Christopher Morse, 51, and charged him with five counts of Possession of Child Pornography.” [Arlington County]

5G Antennas to Be Deployed on Light Poles — Updated at 9:10 a.m. — “We are excited to share that a new 5G streetlight pole prototype is on display in Courthouse (southwest corner of 14th Street North and North Courthouse Road) until Aug. 7. ” [Twitter, Arlington County]

Differing Views on Trail Widenings — “Some who oppose NoVA Parks’ proposed W&OD Trail widening in Arlington, support widening the northern section of the Mt. Vernon Trail. Longtime bicycle activist Allen Muchnick says the proposed Mt. Vernon Trail widening is not really comparable to NoVA Parks’ proposed W&OD widening for multiple reasons.” [Audrey Clement]

Va. Real Estate Market Heating Up — “According to the June 2020 Home Sales Report released by Virginia REALTORS, home sales in most regions of Virginia are rebounding, following spring’s slowdown due to COVID-19. There were 13,176 home sales statewide in June 2020, up 0.5% from a year ago and up nearly 30% over May 2020 sales.” [Press Release]

Flickr pool photo by Cyrus W.

BREAKING: County to Sue Over Trump Census Order

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Board voted Thursday night to sue President Trump.

The Board directed the County Attorney to join other localities in legal action over the president’s order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census tally that determines Congressional representation.

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey called the action “clearly illegal and another effort to undermine the Census” prior to the unanimous vote.

More from an Arlington County press release:

Tonight, the Arlington County Board voted 5-0 to authorize the County Attorney to join the County as a party in legal actions filed against the United States President and others challenging the lawfulness of the President’s July 21, 2020 “Memorandum on Excluding Illegal Aliens from the Apportionment Base Following the 2020 Census.”

The President’s Proposal is Unconstitutional

In Section 2 of the Executive Memo, the President specifically calls ‘to exclude from the apportionment base aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status’. The United States Constitution says the census counts everyone living in the United States — every immigrant, every child, every neighbor, every student, everyone. This action by the President attempts to circumvent a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court and is unconstitutional.

“The Constitution requires an accurate count of our population every 10 years. The information from the Census is a crucial record that helps determine the Federal resources we receive over the next decade and is used for planning and research”, stated County Board Chair Libby Garvey. “We must have an accurate count of everyone living in Arlington and refuse to allow this unlawful effort to scare people and suppress the Census count of our immigrant community. Whether documented or undocumented,  our immigrant residents are valued members of our community.  We are determined that they will be accurately counted.”

Other Damaging Actions

The President is also trying to shorten the Census time frame and end the response collection period before Halloween – even when the U.S. Census Bureau has said it needs through December to ensure a complete and accurate count. In short – the administration is trying to undermine the accuracy and integrity of the 2020 Census and create fear of participation among undocumented immigrants.

Arlington County Residents Benefit from Taking the Census

Arlington receives approximately $50 million in funding based on census data to support transportation, housing, emergency services, free and reduced lunch programs, and more. To date, 71% of Arlington residents have responded to the 2020 Census, but we are still working to increase this number before enumerators start reaching out to households who haven’t been counted yet.

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