arrest

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Va. Adopts New Workplace Safety Rules — “Today, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board acted to protect the Commonwealth’s workers by adopting emergency temporary standards, which set forth enforceable, common-sense requirements that employers must follow to protect their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic… Key requirements, such as those for physical distancing, workplace sanitization, and information sharing, will apply to all workers.” [Commonwealth of Virginia, Legal Aid Justice Center, Twitter]

Witness Helps Apprehend Robbery Suspect — “Two employees followed the suspect outside and attempted to take back the items, at which point a physical altercation ensued. The suspect assaulted the employees and threw the items at them. During this time, a witness heard commotion outside the business and went to investigate, but was struck by the suspect as he fled on foot. Arriving officers, with the assistance of the witness, located the suspect nearby and took him into custody without incident.” [Arlington County]

ACPD No Longer Working With Ring — “Amazon.com Inc.’s doorbell camera subsidiary Ring Inc. has partnered with more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, but it appears it won’t be making a similar arrangement with the HQ2-area police force. Despite quite a bit of interest last year, the Arlington County Police Department said it is no longer ‘actively seeking a partnership with Ring,’ which would have provided its officers access to a special police portal of the company’s Neighbors app.” [Washington Business Journal]

Amazon Delaying Return to Offices — “Amazon said it is allowing employees who can work from home to do so until Jan. 8., once again extending the timeline on a return to work for many of its employees.” [CNBC]

Hope Gets Primary Challenger — Political operative Matt Rogers has announced that he will be challenging Del. Patrick Hope (D-Va.) in next year’s Democratic primary. [Twitter, Blue Virginia]

Local Stage Star Offers Singing Telegrams — “Her title role in ‘Porgy and Bess’ was postponed at the Kennedy Center this summer. Instead, Alyson Cambridge of Arlington, Virginia, is participating in Sing for Hope grams… The idea is to give personalized singing grams from Broadway and opera stars.” [WTOP]

ACFD Battles Falls Church House Fire — Arlington County firefighters were joined by firefighters from Fairfax County in battling a house fire on Robinson Place in the City of Falls Church yesterday. [Tysons Reporter]

EXCLUSIVE: ACPD Arrest Data Shows Race, Residency Disparities

By ARLnow.com

Most people arrested in Arlington are Black and most do not reside in Arlington.

That’s according to 2019 arrest data shared by the Arlington County Police Department, at the request of ARLnow and a local community group. Its release follows calls for police reform and nationwide protests over the deaths of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement.

ACPD officers arrested 3,613 people in 2019, according to the data, and just over half were Black. Only 35.8% of those arrested live in Arlington.

The data provided says 45% of arrestees were white, but that includes those most of the 19.6% of arrestees identified as Latino. (Latino is considered an ethnicity while Black, white, Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native are classified as races in the ACPD data.)

According to the latest Census estimates, 61.4% of Arlington’s population is non-Hispanic white, 15.6% is Hispanic/Latino, 11.1% is Asian/Pacific Islander, 9.7% is Black, just under 3.6% is multiracial and 0.6% is Indigenous.

More on the ACPD arrest data, from a report that accompanied it:

Of the 3,613 arrestees, 1,830 were identified as Black (50.7%) and 1,625 (45.0%) were identified as White. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islanders 118 arrests (3.3%), American Indian/Alaskan Native 3 arrests (0.1%) and Other/Unknown/Blank Race 37 arrests (1.0%) made up the remainder. Ethnicity of persons are recorded separately from race. Arrestees identified as Hispanic/Latino ethnicity accounted for 708 arrests, 19.6% of total arrests.

Most arrestees (64.2%) did not identify Arlington as their residence. There was some disparity in the Arlington-resident status of arrestees across racial groups. American Indian/Alaskan Natives individuals (66.7%) were the most likely to be an Arlington resident, then Asian individual arrestees (52.5%), followed by White individuals (43.8%), then Black individuals (27.2%). Unknown race individuals were listed as Arlington residents 56.8% of the time. […]

Most arrestees were either 18-25 years old (26.7%) or 26-35 years old (31.4%). The remaining arrestee age cohorts of 36-45 (16.0%) , 46-55 (10.0%), 12-17 (8.3%) and 56+ years old (7.5%) combined for fewer than 50% of total arrestees. When age cohorts were grouped by race, they tended to closely resemble overall racial arrest distribution, with the exception of juvenile arrests. Of total arrested individuals ages 12-17, 61.0% were Black individuals and 36.7% were White individuals, compared to 50.7% and 45.0% across all ages

In a recent Williamsburg Yorktown Daily article about the disproportionate number of Black arrestees in that part of Virginia, a director of the state chapter of the ACLU quotes an unnamed former Arlington commonwealth’s attorney in explaining the county’s disproportionate arrest statistics as largely a function of the residency of those arrested.

Jenny Glass, director of advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia… said the previous commonwealth’s attorney in Arlington County gave a similar explanation when Glass noticed 60 percent of the arrests were black people even though they made up around 10 percent of the population.

“I was looking into if there was any validity why the jail in Arlington County had such a disparate [number] of Black people in it,” Glass said.

“It’s because we arrest a lot of people in D.C.,” Glass said was what the former commonwealth’s attorney told her.

The ACPD report similarly suggests that when residency is separated out, the racial disparities are not as stark. However, even among Arlington residents, the proportion of Black arrestees is still about four times higher than that of the population.

“A comparison of Arlington arrest data to Arlington demographic data is problematic because Arlington-residents only made up 35.8% of ACPD arrests in 2019,” the report says. “If we only examine Arlington-resident arrests – 55% were White individuals, 38.5% were Black individuals, 4.8% were identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.6% were identified as Other/Unknown/Blank race, and 0.2% were American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals.”

Meanwhile, Arlington officers wrote 38,766 non-parking citations in 2019 and the demographics of those receiving citations is more in line with the county’s population.

“Total traffic citations and warnings given to Arlington residents (28.5% of total citations/warnings) closely resemble the racial demography of Arlington,” the ACPD report says. “76.2% of traffic summons/warnings were issued to White residents, 14.2% to Black residents, 5.9% to Asian residents, 3.6% to Other/Unknown residents, and 0.1% to American Indian/Alaskan Native residents.”

The report adds that white and non-white drivers were equally likely to get off on just a warning during a traffic stop.

“Residents were slightly more likely to get a Traffic VUS Warning citation (23.0%) than non-residents (20.4%),” the report said. “Individuals identified as White and individuals identified as non-White received warning citations at virtually the same rate – 21.1% for drivers identified as White, 21.2% for drivers identified as non-White.”

Equity, particularly racial equity, was identified as a key 2020 priority for Arlington County government at the beginning of the year.

Local criminal justice reform advocates have called for Arlington Police Chief M. Jay Farr, who is retiring at the end of the year, to be replaced by a new chief “who is committed to justice system transformation, eliminating bias, and implementing new methods of policing.”

Farr wrote a letter to the Arlington community to accompany the release of the arrest data. The full letter is below.

(more…)

ACPD: Drunk Man Flashes Officers in Pentagon City, Gets Arrested

By ARLnow.com

A North Carolina man wound up in jail after allegedly declaring independence from his trousers Saturday night.

Just before midnight on July 4, police were called to the 1200 block of S. Eads Street in Pentagon City for a report of a man exposing himself.

“Arriving officers located the suspect, who attempted to walk away from them. He then turned back and allegedly exposed himself to officers, who then took him into custody without incident,” according to a new Arlington County Police Department crime report.

A 36-year-old man from Fayetteville, North Carolina “was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure and Drunk in Public,” the report continued. “He was held on no bond.”

On the morning of the Fourth of July, a 29-year-old D.C. man was arrested on the 100 block of S. Fenwick Street, in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, after another alleged indecent exposure incident.

“At approximately 7:04 a.m. on July 4, police were dispatched to the report of an indecent exposure,” said the crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim observed the male suspect allegedly touching himself inappropriately. Arriving officers located the suspect and took him into custody without incident.”

The suspect was charged with Public Masturbation and held on no bond, the crime report said.

ACPD Officers Punched, Splashed and Bit

By ARLnow.com

Two officers required medical attention after a pair of incidents in Arlington last week.

The first, early Thursday morning in Ballston, involved a 24-year-old suspect who was seen walking in the street. Brought to a local hospital for evaluation, the suspect then allegedly “struck an officer with a closed fist multiple times,” according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.

The second incident, early Friday morning in Buckingham, involved a 39-year-old suspect accused of shoplifting, being drunk in public, and throwing liquid at arresting officers. The suspect later allegedly bit an officer while being transported from the hospital “for medical clearance,” per ACPD.

More from the crime report:

ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2020-06250035, Washington Boulevard at N. Glebe Road. At approximately 4:02 a.m. on June 25, police were dispatched to the report of a suspicious person acting aggressively to a passerby. Arriving officers made contact with the male subject, who was standing in the roadway and moved him to the sidewalk for his safety. The subject repeatedly attempted to walk back into the roadway as traffic was passing. He was transported to an area hospital for medical evaluation, where he allegedly began acting disorderly and struck an officer with a closed fist multiple times. With the assistance of additional officers, the suspect was placed into handcuffs. The officer sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. John Steele, 24, of No Fixed Address, was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery on Police.

ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT, 2020-06260004, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 12:13 a.m. on June 26, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. A lookout was broadcast, and officers located an individual matching the suspect description nearby. While investigating, the suspect denied having stolen anything and began walking away. The officer attempted to stop the suspect, however, he became combative, allegedly threw liquid at the officers and fled on foot. The officer caught up to the suspect, and, with the assistance of additional arriving officers, he was taken into custody. The suspect was transported to an area hospital for medical clearance, where he continued to act disorderly. The suspect then refused to get into the transport vehicle and had to be lifted in by multiple officers, during which he bit an officer. Deandre Davis, 39, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Assault & Battery on Police (x2), Obstruction of Justice, Petit Larceny: Shoplifting and Drunk in Public. He was held on no bond.

Gas Station Carjacking Leads to Arrest

By ARLnow.com

A 19-year-old South Carolina man was arrested after a carjacking near Shirlington last night.

The carjacking happened around 8:30 p.m., at a gas station at the corner of S. Four Mile Run Drive and S. Walter Reed Drive. The suspect drove the victim’s car into Fairfax County but a short time later drove back into Arlington, leading to an attempted traffic stop from which the suspect fled, according to ACPD.

Police say the suspect parked the car a few blocks from where it was stolen and took off on foot. He was later located by officers and taken into custody.

More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

CARJACKING, 2020-06220165, S. Four Mile Run Drive at S. Walter Reed Drive. At approximately 8:27 p.m. on June 22, police were dispatched to the report of a carjacking. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was pumping gas when the male suspect allegedly approached her and demanded the vehicle. The suspect stole the car and fled into Fairfax County. A lookout for the vehicle was broadcast to area law enforcement. At approximately 9:03 p.m., officers were alerted that the vehicle was re-entering the County on Columbia Pike. The vehicle was initially located in the area of 5300 block of Columbia Pike and an officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, however, the driver fled at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was later located parked and unoccupied in the 2600 block of S. Arlington Mill Drive. A perimeter was established, and following a search by officers and K9s, the suspect was located and taken into custody. Verdell Floyd, 19, of Columbia, S.C. was arrested and charged with Carjacking and Eluding. He was held on no bond.

Two Teens Arrested for Vandalism at New Middle School

By ARLnow.com

Two Arlington teens are facing felony charges after an alleged vandalism spree in the new Dorothy Hamm Middle School.

Police were dispatched to the under-construction school on Vacation Lane — which formerly housed the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program — just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, following a burglar alarm activation. They found two 18-year-olds and a slew of damaged property, according to the Arlington County Police Department.

“Arriving officers established a perimeter and observed the suspects exit the building,” police said in a crime report. “One suspect was taken into custody, while the second suspect attempted to flee on foot. Officers later located the second suspect nearby and took him into custody without incident.”

The teens “were arrested and charged with Burglary with Intent to Commit Larceny/Assault & Battery/Other Felony, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, Destruction of Property and Consume/Purchase/Possess Alcohol: <21 Years Old,” the crime report said. “They were held on no bond.”

A police spokeswoman said the damage was mostly from graffiti.

“The suspects allegedly tore down posters and papers and spray painted various items throughout the building,” said ACPD’s Ashley Savage. “A cost estimate of damages is ongoing.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

APS Working to Keep School Construction on Track — “Top Arlington school-system staff are recommending doing whatever it takes – including shuffling money away from other projects – to ensure construction of a new elementary school in Westover does not fall behind schedule.” [InsideNova]

Yard Waste Collection Suspended Again — After a one-week reprieve, Arlington has again suspended its residential yard waste collection service. There’s no word on when it will resume, though the county has opened two yard waste drop-off centers. [Arlington County]

Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony to Be Livestreamed — On Wednesday at 8 a.m. “the Arlington County Police Department and the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office will host a virtual Observance of Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor and pay tribute to the memory of Arlington’s seven fallen law enforcement officers.” [Arlington County]

New Superintendent’s Introductory Remarks — “Among other things, Dr. Durán pledges to close ‘access, opportunity and achievement gaps;’ to ‘commit collectively to sustain and improve the level of academic excellence for students in APs
through an equity and inclusion lens;’ and to help students and families ‘through these troubling times times.'” [Blue Virginia]

Paper’s Prediction: Dems Win Special Election — “The field is set at three: Democrat Takis Karantonis, Republican Bob Cambridge and independent Susan Cunningham. The arrival of Cambridge is probably music to the ears of Democrats, as he will help split the anti-Democratic vote with the better-known and probably more viable Cunningham, allowing Karantonis to win and avoiding a repeat of a 2014 special election when John Vihstadt went mano-a-mano against Democrats and wrestled them into submission.” [Sun Gazette]

Amazon Running Arlington-Herndon Shuttle — “It’s too early to tell if Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will launch a Seattle-style shuttle service for its HQ2 employees, but the company has connected its Herndon and Arlington offices via shuttle.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Participating in Virtual Tech Conference — “For the last several years, Northern Virginia has taken dozens of promising tech start-ups to the Collision conference, granting them access to programming, investors, mentors and networking opportunities. This year, the Collision organizers have moved everything online, so instead of traveling to the conference in Toronto this year, eighteen lucky start-ups from Northern Virginia will get an all-access pass to the Collision from Home tech conference.” [Press Release]

Nearby: Alleged W&OD Trail Creeper Arrested — “City of Falls Church Police arrested Lamar Dontae McCarthy, 23 years old of Stafford, VA, and charged him with assault. On Saturday, May 9, police reported to Grove Ave. and the W&OD Trail for a report of a suspect who had pursued a woman on the trail. The woman stated she saw a man in a red hooded sweatshirt suddenly stop his vehicle and sprint after her.” [City of Falls Church]

Police: Man Arrested After Inappropriately Touching Rideshare Driver and Himself

By ARLnow.com

A Maryland man was kicked out of a rideshare vehicle and later arrested after inappropriate sexual conduct, according to Arlington County Police.

The incident happened Saturday afternoon, around 2:30 p.m. Police were dispatched to westbound I-66 near the Rosslyn tunnel, after getting a call about a man that had exposed himself.

“Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was operating as a rideshare driver when the suspect, a passenger, allegedly began making inappropriate comments and grabbed her arm,” according to an ACPD crime report. “The victim pulled over and forced him out of the vehicle, while he continued to touch himself inappropriately. The suspect fled on foot prior to police arrival.”

A suspect was later arrested along Lee Highway, just west of Glebe Road.

“Officers located the suspect and took him into custody without incident in the 4900 block of Lee Highway,” the crime report continued. “Demetrius Dent, 27, of Forestville, Md., was arrested and charged with Indecent Exposure and Assault and Battery.”

File photo

ACPD Arrests Four Occupants of Stolen Car with Helicopter Assist

By ARLnow.com

Four people were taken into police custody early Sunday morning after a license plate reader alerted an officer to a reported stolen vehicle.

The incident happened around midnight. Police say the driver of the stolen car took off after the officer attempted a traffic stop, then bailed out and fled on foot — along with three other vehicle occupants — near the intersection of 9th Street S. and S. Oakland Street, in the Alcova Heights neighborhood near Columbia Pike.

Police established a perimeter and the Fairfax County Police helicopter was called in to assist with the suspect search. Eventually, all four suspects were apprehended, including the alleged driver — who was found in the backseat of a car that tried to drive through the search area.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE, 2020-05020209, 9th Street S. at S. Oakland Street. At approximately 11:46 p.m. on May 2, an officer was alerted to an LPR hit on a vehicle previously reported stolen out of Washington, D.C. The officer attempted a traffic stop, however, the driver eluded. The driver eventually stopped the vehicle at 9th Street S. and S. Oakland Street and all four occupants fled on foot. Arriving officers apprehended three of the suspects. A perimeter was established and a helicopter responded to assist with the search for the outstanding suspect. A vehicle entered the perimeter with an individual in the rear seat matching the suspect description. The vehicle was stopped and the fourth suspect was apprehended without incident. Three of the occupants were released and charges are anticipated at a later date. The fourth suspect and alleged driver, Avery Robinson, was arrested and charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Possession of a Concealed Weapon, Possession of Stolen Goods, Eluding and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a secured bond.

Numerous locals noted the circling chopper and took to social media to ask what was going on.

Police: Rock-Throwing Thief Nabbed After Pentagon City Chase

By ARLnow.com
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A man allegedly led police on a foot chase through part of Pentagon City around lunchtime Tuesday.

Arlington County Police say officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of S. Fern Street — the location of the Costco store, a Starbucks and other businesses — around 11:40 a.m. for a report of a theft. Store employees told arriving officers that a man had shoplifted and then threw rocks at employees who confronted him, shattering a store window in the process.

One of the arriving officers located the suspect, who took off running. He was stopped and arrested near the intersection of S. Hayes Street and 15th Street S., photos show.

The 46-year-old suspect faces petty larceny and destruction of property charges. He was released on bond.

More from today’s ACPD crime report:

LARCENY (Significant), 2020-04280057, 1200 block of S. Fern Street. At approximately 11:41 a.m. on April 28, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that store employees allegedly observed the suspect conceal merchandise before leaving without paying. When the employees confronted the suspect outside, he threw rocks at them and through a window of the business. An arriving officer observed the suspect who refused to comply with commands to stop and fled on foot. Following a foot pursuit, the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Taoufik Ait Hamadi, 46, of No Fixed Address was arrested and charged with Petit Larceny and Destruction of Property. He was released on bond.

Photos courtesy anonymous

Police: Man Threw Dogs from Apartment Balcony

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5 p.m.) A 26-year-old Arlington man has been arrested after police say he tossed two dogs to their death from his apartment balcony in Courthouse.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Police received a call about the dogs being thrown off a fifth floor apartment balcony at the Meridian building at 1401 N. Taft Street. According to police dispatches at the time, someone — possibly the building manager — had rushed the dogs to a local vet before officers arrived.

Police arrived on scene and arrested an apartment resident, who now faces animal cruelty charges.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

ANIMAL COMPLAINT, 2020-04280069, 1400 block of N. Taft Street. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on April 27, police were dispatched to the report of an animal complaint. Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect allegedly threw two dogs off the balcony of a residence. Prior to police arrival, the dogs were located and transported to area animal hospitals, where they succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced deceased. Officers made contact with the suspect at his residence and took him into custody without incident. Zachary Hanson, 26, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Cruelty to Animals (x2). He was held on no bond.

A police spokeswoman tells ARLnow that one of the dogs was the suspect’s, while the other belonged to someone he knew.

“One belonged to the suspect, the other belonged to someone known to the suspect,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “To best protect the identity of the victim, we will not release additional information related to their relationship.”

“What preceded the incident is under investigation,” Savage added.

Court records show that Hanson — no relation to the well-known singer who was born in Arlington — has a preliminary hearing scheduled in Arlington General District on Aug. 28. The charges against him are both Class 6 felonies that generally call for 1-5 years in prison if convicted.

Photo via Google Maps

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