police

Washington-Lee High School Closed Due to Threat

By ARLnow.com

Update at 9:30 a.m. — The school and the aquatic center have reopened after getting the “all clear” from police.

An unspecified threat at Washington-Lee High School has prompted officials to cancel all after-school activities at the high school, including adult education classes. The W-L aquatic center has also been closed.

Administrators learned of the threat this afternoon, school officials said in an email. Police investigated and determined that there was no imminent danger to students and staff.

The building was closed at 3:00 p.m., immediately after classes ended. Police are now conducting a more thorough search of the building.

Arlington Public Schools will announce whether there will be any further cancellations early tomorrow morning. The W-L aquatics center will open at 6:30 a.m., at the earliest, the school system said.

Falls Church PD Investigating Suspicious Death

By ARLnow.com

Falls Church police are investigating a “suspicious death” in the back parking lot of a shopping center.

A Latino man was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the head around 11:15 last night, after police received several calls from people who heard gunfire. The body was discovered in the parking lot of the shopping plaza between East Fairfax Street and Hillwood Avenue. A gun was found near the body, police said.

Arlington Fire Department personnel assisted at the crime scene.

Woman Hit By Metrobus Faces Charge

By ARLnow.com

The woman hit by a Metrobus in Fairlington yesterday has been charged with careless interference with traffic.

Lisa Pope, 40, of Arlington leaned into the path of the bus while it was pulling up at a stop, police spokesperson Det. Crystal Nosal said. She was taken to a local hospital, bleeding from the forehead, as police and Metro personnel investigated the incident.

Pope was released on a summons, police said.

Pentagon City Metro Station Closes Due to Bomb Threat

By ARLnow.com

A phoned-in bomb threat and a suspicious package shut down the busy Pentagon City Metro station for more than two hours Saturday evening. It happened during a period of heavy ridership, as tourists were returning to their hotels from the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The Yellow and the Blue lines were effectively split in two during the incident, which began at 5:32 p.m. Shuttle buses were brought in to take passengers from between the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Pentagon stations during the closure. The Pentagon City station reopened at 7:40 p.m., after police swept the station and the package was deemed not harmful, Metro said.

Crime Report: Pentagon City Mall Edition

By ARLnow.com

Just about every day police get called to at least one reported shoplifting at the Pentagon City mall. Often, police make several trips to the mall in any given day. Security personnel, it seems, are extraordinarily skilled at catching thieves.

But the guards aren’t quite as used to suspects turning violent. Thus this item in this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report is noteworthy:

ROBBERY 03/27/10, 1400 block of S. Hayes Street. On March 27 at 3 pm, two suspects stole items from a department store. When they were stopped by security, they assaulted the guard and implied that they had a knife. The suspects were both African American males in their 40’s. The first suspect was 5’8″-5’9″, 175 lbs, and was wearing tan pants, a navy hooded sweatshirt and black and white sneakers. The second suspect was 5’10”, 200 lbs. wearing dark blue jeans and a black peacoat.

The rest of the report, including a death investigation we reported on last week, after the jump.

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Fake FBI “Director” Arrested in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

An Arlington woman is facing federal charges for allegedly impersonating an FBI agent.

Authorities say Brenna Reilly, 29, told neighbors in her Arlington apartment building that she was the director of the FBI’s Forensic Division. She even convinced a neighbor to quit his job and serve as her assistant, according to court documents.

Reilly was arrested earlier this month. Arlington County police assisted with the arrest.

More from the Washington Examiner.

Police Cuff Two in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Police detained and questioned two men near the new Northside Social in Clarendon around 1:00 this afternoon, as a lunchtime crowd looked on. Officers were seen blocking off roads and scouring the area, looking for a possible third suspect.

We’re told the police activity had something to do with a reported theft from a nearby cell phone store. Don’t worry, Northside Social’s fancy new Italian espresso machine is safe.

No word on whether the men will face any charges.

Shots Fired, Then a Mother’s Grief

By ARLnow.com

Update on 3/25/10 — Police say they’re investigating the possibility that the suspect killed a woman in Fairfax County prior to committing suicide.

Update at 9:00 p.m. — This article is presented as first published. Police now say the man shot himself as soon as officers arrived on the scene.

“He just told me my baby is dead!” the mother wailed out, as neighbors watched from across the parking lot. A detective just broke the news that her son had been shot and was lying dead on a sidewalk. Another detective allowed a family member he was questioning go console her.

Neighbors in the garden apartment community, located off of South Quincy Street near Columbia Pike, mostly stood quietly and observed. Some talked in groups. Others were crying.

A rare incident had occurred less than an hour before this moment. Shots had rang out in Arlington. At this point we don’t know who fired the shots (or shot); that will come later in a police statement or press conference.

What we do know is that police received a call for a man with a gun around 4:00 this afternoon, near South Quincy and 12th Street South. A radio transmission said he might have been threatening to kill someone. Minutes later: “Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” Seconds later, the word that the suspect had been shot in the head and was dead.

The scene was secure, an officer said.

Crime Report: Robbers Now Wearing Abercrombie

By ARLnow.com

From this week’s Arlington Police Department crime report, a pair of robberies:

ROBBERY 03/17/10, 600 block of N. Glebe Road. On March 17 at 2 pm, an aggressive panhandler assaulted a teenage male and stole money from his wallet. The suspect is described as an African American male, between 20-30 years of age, 5’7″. He was wearing a dark hooded trench coat, sunglasses, khaki pants, and had a “scruffy” appearance.

ROBBERY 3/19/10, 6000 block of N. 27th Street. On March 19 at 11:30 pm, a woman was walking to her house when two unknown men approached her. One implied that he had a knife and stole her purse and jewelry. The suspects left in an unknown vehicle. Both suspects were described as white Hispanic men. The first suspect was 5’7″, 160 lbs, and was wearing jeans and a dark colored hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect was 5’5″, 180 lbs, and was wearing loose jeans and a white “Abercrombie” shirt.

The rest of the report, after the jump.

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Fewer Cops + Pay Freeze = Low Morale

By ARLnow.com

Twenty-three Arlington police officers attended Tuesday night’s board meeting to speak out against a proposed four percent decrease in police department funding. The cuts would result in the reduction of 11 officers from the department’s community policing force and four positions from other parts of the department.

In addition, certain regularly-scheduled pay increases would be frozen and health care costs would increase. Officers say despite promises and words of praise from Arlington leaders, compensation is lower than many comparable local jurisdictions.

“We’re falling behind,” said Ken Dennis, president of the Arlington Coalition of Police union. “We need to keep up with the Joneses.”

Dennis had all the police officers in the room stand up in order to represent the number of officers that will have been lost to budget cuts since 2009 if the proposed budget is approved.

“We make them work harder for less, we do more with less money, [and] we expect them to be happy because they have a job,” Dennis said. “Don’t cut any cops, we shouldn’t have cut them last year.”

David Green, president of the Arlington Police Beneficiary Association, said pay increases haven’t kept up with inflation since 2001.

Brynn Bennett, a six-year veteran of the force, said officers will begin leaving the department if nothing is done to improve conditions.

“We will hemmorrige skilled officers to those agencies that can better help us provide for our families,” Bennett said.

“When you turn your back on the employees, morale hits an all-time low and the ripple effect will be seen in the services provided,” police officer Mike Rowling told the board.”The message is loud and clear: employees are not a priority.”

Rowling suggested the county raise taxes to the advertised rate, which is two cents higher than the county manager’s proposed rate, in order to properly fund the department. The suggestion drew loud applause.

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