police

ACPD Annual Report: Crime Rises While Police Force Shrinks

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) The Arlington County Police Department has released its annual report, which paints a mixed picture of rising overall crime with decreases in certain types of offenses and a shrinking police force.

ACPD’s 2019 Annual Report says that crime in Arlington “remains historically low,” but the county “experienced an overall increase in 2019 which was marked particularly by vehicle-related property crimes.” Over the past year police have responded to a string of vehicle break-ins around the county, but have also been making arrests.

“The work of officers to proactively patrol Arlington’s neighborhoods to identify and prevent criminal activity and conduct follow-up investigations resulted in a number of significant arrests,” the report says.

Crime, grouped into “Group A Offense Totals” and the more minor “Group B Arrests,” rose to 7,985 and 1,324, respectively, from 7,313 and 1,209 the year prior, according to the report

The year saw increases in the number of reported simple assaults, motor vehicle thefts, larcenies, robberies and public drunkenness charges. There were decreases in sex offenses, abductions, prostitution charges, and DUIs. Murders fell from four in 2018 to two in 2019.

The police force shrunk, albeit slightly, from 2018 to 2019 amid recruiting challenges. The new report lists a sworn police force of 343, down from 353 the year prior. Both figures are below the authorized sworn force of 370.

In the report, the police department notes that it is working towards a goal of a more diverse police force. As of 2019, 10.8% of officers were Black, 8.7% were Hispanic, and 74.1% were white.

In order to provide the best professional law enforcement services to the Arlington Community, we strive to hire personnel that reflect our community’s demographics. Our Personnel and Recruitment Unit works diligently to seek individuals from all backgrounds who possess the necessary qualifications to serve Arlington. While we recognize the police department’s demographic data does not perfectly match that of the Arlington community, recent hires since January 2018 show a positive trend towards aligning more closely with our demographics. The Department requires sixty semester hours of college credit or prior military or law enforcement service, however, a significant majority of our sworn staff hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Written amid nationwide protests over police killings, as well as local calls for police reform, the report contains a letter from Chief M. Jay Farr pledging to do more to win the trust of Arlingtonians.

While the department has a longstanding history of proactively engaging with the community, we recognize there is still more work to be done to ensure the trust and confidence of those we serve. The tragic death of Mr. George Floyd has sparked a national conversation around policing in America. We are committed to continuing to work with the community to hear your concerns, build a diverse workforce, train our officers to de-escalate situations, and ensure accountability and transparency. I can assure you that each and every day, our officers work to provide the level of service that is not only expected but reflected by this community.

Farr is planning to retire by the end of the year.

UPDATED: Suspicious Package Investigation in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) A road was closed in Crystal City this morning due to a suspicious package investigation.

Police blocked off 26th Street S. between Crystal Drive and S. Clark Street, and are also working to block Crystal Drive.

The Arlington County Fire Department bomb squad responded to the scene to investigate the reported suspicious object, but ultimately officers from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency examined it and gave the all-clear, an ACFD spokesman said.

The area is home to a number of government and military offices.

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.

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Petition Calls for Renaming Fairlington Bridge Amid Battle Over ‘BLM’ Art

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:45 p.m.) More than 500 people have signed a petition calling for the S. Abingdon Street bridge over I-395 to be renamed “Black Lives Matter Bridge.”

The petition was created amid dueling efforts to place and remove the letters “BLM” on the bridge’s chain link fence, a thus far nonviolent dispute that has resulted in multiple calls to Arlington County police.

The BLM art first appeared about a month ago, during nationwide protests over the deaths of Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement.

Two weeks ago, the red cups used to form the letters were removed, promping locals to replace them with new cups and to write new chalk slogans. Among them: “no justice, no peace” and “take it down and we’ll do it again.”

Melissa Schwaber, who sent photos of the cups being replaced, described those doing so as “Fairlington moms and their kids.”

The cups were later removed again, which led to Black Lives Matters supporters creating a heart and spelling out BLM with harder-to-remove ribbons. That won Twitter praise from Arlington County Board Chair and Fairlington resident Libby Garvey. The next day, however, someone spray-painted “TRUMP 2020” under the letters.

https://twitter.com/GtoGtoreo77/status/1276868791423643649

The spray paint was in turn sprayed over later that morning, and “BLACK LIVES MATTER” written in chalk over it. Then, more spray paint appeared.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, July 1, a local resident posted photos of an older man and a younger man — wearing a motorcycle helmet and a Liberty University shirt — who she accused of vandalizing the bridge and the lettering.

On Friday, a tipster said the “BLM vs. MAGA battle” was continuing to escalate.

“Now there are people putting up conspiracy theory banners on the bridge and people camped out on the bridge with large dogs,” the tipster said. The banners included a photo of Hillary Clinton under the words “WANTED 4 Crimes Against Humanity.”

Later that day, there were more skirmishes.

“I was driving on the Fairlington Bridge an hour or so ago and saw a man arguing with several white women near the BLM signs,” said another tipster. “He was waving his arms in one woman’s face. About 15 minutes ago, on my way home, I saw that the Arlington PD (about 3 cars) had detained the man at the gas station in Shirlington.”

An Arlington County police spokeswoman tells ARLnow that officers have responded to the bridge several times.

“ACPD has responded to multiple reports of disputes in the area of the S. Abingdon Street bridge regarding the posting and removal of signage,” said Kirby Clark. She said that “no charges have been filed related to any incidents involving the signs,” but one incident is under investigation.

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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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Candidates Support Stormwater Investment — “How it gets paid for (and by whom) perhaps is a question for another day, but the three candidates in the July 7 Arlington County Board special election voiced support for increased stormwater-management efforts. ‘We need to be making a generational investment,’ said Susan Cunningham, one of three candidates on the ballot seeking to fill the seat of the late Erik Gutshall.” [InsideNova]

Analysis of N. Arlington House Numbers — “In the ZIP code 22207, serif addresses vastly outnumber sans serif addresses, 7,759 to 2,111. Many blocks feature no sans serif houses at all, or just one or two. But in isolated pockets–individual blocks or even orange and red “hot zones” spread across a couple of streets–sans serif numbers are beginning to break through.” [Slate]

How a Local Chiropractic Practice Is Doing — “Some businesses are still trying to get adjusted to the flow of business in the new normal. ‘I would say we’re about 75% close to where we were before,’ Dr. Hooman Hamidi said. Hamidi is a chiropractor in Arlington, Va. When the global pandemic shut things down, his business slowed to a crawl.” [WUSA 9]

Galaxy Hut Staying Takeout-Only, For Now — “Based on what we’ve seen, we still don’t feel it’s the safest option to allow people to hang out at our restaurants at this time. Instead, we will be expanding our pickup hours and introducing some new yums at both Galaxy Hut and Spacebar in the coming weeks.” [Facebook]

ACPD to Report More Traffic Stop Info — “The Community Policing Act, Virginia House Bill 1250, takes effect July 1, 2020. This law requires law enforcement and State Police to collect certain information from the driver during all motor vehicle (traffic) and investigatory stops and prohibits law enforcement officers and State Police from engaging in bias-based policing.” [Arlington County]

New Laws Taking Effect Today — “Marijuana will be decriminalized, local governments will have the ability to take down Confederate monuments, and Virginians will pay more in taxes for gasoline and cigarettes starting Wednesday. July 1 is the start date for most of the new laws passed earlier this year by the General Assembly.” [Associated Press]

Man Staggers to Police HQ After Being Stabbed at Party

By ARLnow.com

A man stabbed multiple times at a party in the Rosslyn area managed to stagger up to police headquarters in Courthouse to get help.

The stabbing happened Saturday evening on the 1700 block of N. Troy Street, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.

“At approximately 6:53 p.m. on June 27, an officer was approached outside Police Headquarters in the 2000 block of 14th Street N. by an individual who had been stabbed multiple times,” ACPD says. “Officers immediately began to render aid to the victim until medics arrived and transported him to an area hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.”

“The investigation determined that the victim was attending a social gathering when a verbal dispute between known individuals began to escalate,” the crime report continues. “The victim attempted to intervene, however the suspect then allegedly produced a knife and struck the victim multiple times. The victim was able to run away from the gathering, where he then sought assistance from police nearby. The investigation is ongoing.”

A passerby described a bloody scene outside of ACPD HQ.

“I was walking by the police station last night and saw police and the ambulance with the guy,” the tipster said. “There was blood everywhere on the steps of the police station. Looks like the guy way stabbed a bunch of times in the chest and stomach. Later they had to bring in a fire truck to wash the blood away.”

The victim is expected to survive.

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.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

‘BLM’ on Fairlington Bridge Restored — Residents of the Fairlington area used ties to restore a Black Lives Matters message on the bridge over I-395 over the weekend. The letters “BLM” had previously been placed on the bridge’s fence but later removed by an unknown party. Also this weekend, below the BLM letters someone scrawled “Trump 2020,” but that was later covered and “Black Lives Matter” written over it in chalk. [Twitter]

ACPD Details De-Escalation Training — “In response to community questions, ACPD has created this fact sheet highlighting how we train officers to de-escalate incidents and safely resolve situations.” [Twitter]

Update to Jim Pebley Obit — Per an email from former county treasurer Frank O’Leary: “You will be pleased to hear that, due to the actions of former commanders of our County’s namesake ship, it appears that Commander Pebley’s ashes will be spread at sea by the USS ARLINGTON. This is a singular honor and reflects the high respect the Navy feels for Jim. Nothing less than he deserves. There is an old adage, ‘The Navy takes care of its own.’ Perhaps, the same can be said of Arlington.”

Candidates on the Arts — “Arlington County voters will go to the polls on July 7 to determine who will fill the County Board seat of the late Erik Gutshall. In order to help voters understand each candidate’s stand on the importance of arts and culture in the County, Embracing Arlington Arts sent out a questionnaire for the three candidates to complete covering several issues pertaining to the arts in Arlington.” [Press Release, Embracing Arlington Arts]

TTT Now Serving Unlimited Weekend Brunch — “There’s a new all-you-can eat brunch in town. TTT in Clarendon, which stands for Tacos, Tortas and Tequila, has joined its Street Guys Hospitality brethren, including beloved Ambar, in offering unlimited eats on weekend mornings.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Reminder: Metro Stations Back Open — “Metro plans to reopen the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro stations in Arlington, starting Sunday.” [ARLnow]

Nearby: Fairfax Teachers Revolt — “A day after one of the nation’s largest school systems announced its proposal for fall learning, teachers within Fairfax County Public Schools rose in revolt and refused to teach in-person, as the plan demands, until officials revise their strategy.” [Washington Post]

UPDATED: Police Investigating Fatal Columbia Pike Shooting

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Two people were wounded and one is dead after an overnight shooting on Columbia Pike

Police say they were called to the 3000 block of Columbia Pike — the same block as the Days Inn and the McDonald’s — just after 2:30 a.m. for a report of gunshots.

Later, two victims showed up at a local hospital “with injuries considered to be non life threatening.” After that, police say they located another victim deceased in a vehicle on the 3200 block of the Pike, the same block as the Audi dealership and the Westmont Shopping Center. It’s the county’s third homicide of 2020.

Columbia Pike was shut down in both directions between S. Glebe Road and S. Highland Street during the investigation this morning.

“Police remain on-scene and in the area investigating,” said Arlington County police. “Anyone with information is asked to call 703-558-2222.”

On Sunday afternoon, ACPD released more information about the shooting, revealing that it happened after a dispute outside of an unidentified business. The full press release is below.

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a shooting that took place on Columbia Pike in the early morning hours of June 28, 2020 that left one victim deceased and two victims with minor injuries.

At approximately 2:39 a.m., police were dispatched to area of the 3000 block of Columbia Pike for the report of shots fired and a large crowd dispersing outside of a business. While investigating the initial reports of shots fired, officers were notified that two victims had arrived at an area hospital seeking treatment for minor injuries. The preliminary investigation indicates that following a dispute between multiple parties, the suspect entered his vehicle and fired gunshots in the area of the crowd as he fled the scene.

As the investigation into the initial call continued, officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of Columbia Pike, where a third victim was located inside of a vehicle with trauma to the upper body. The victim was subsequently pronounced deceased on scene. Cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The decedent is identified as Donovan A. Green Jr., 21, of Upper Marlboro, Md.

This incident remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

This is the third homicide in Arlington County in 2020.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Police Mutual Aid Agreements Under Review — “The force Park Police officers have used against protesters could cost the agency its working relationship with some local police departments. In a statement to News4, Metropolitan Washington’s Council of Governments confirms it is now planning to review the regional mutual aid agreement which governs those relationships.” [NBC 4, Connection Newspapers]

Planning Commission to Restart Meetings — “After a layoff of four months, the Arlington Planning Commission soon will be back in business – albeit in ‘virtual’ format, at least for the time being. Having last met on March 11, the advisory panel will hold its first COVID-era gathering on July 6, catching up on a backlog of items but likely focused on matters headed for County Board consideration later in the month.” [InsideNova]

More Changes to Marathon Planned — “Our working solution is to break the 45th MCM up into 24 waves that will start over an expanded window of time on event morning. This plan will necessitate a smaller field of in-person participants. Those in the late waves will have less time to Beat the Bridge. Twelve minutes per mile is the best we can offer at this time. It possibly might have to go even lower.” [Marine Corps Marathon]

Four Bond Referenda Planned — “Arlington taxpayers would be asked to approve four bond referendums totaling just under $92 million in the November general election… More than half the total amount – $50.8 million – will be used to address stormwater-management issues. Additional bonds are being proposed for transportation and Metro ($30 million), infrastructure ($7.5 million) and parks ($3.6 million).” [InsideNova]

District Doughnut Promotion — “To celebrate the reopening of our Ballston Quarter store, we are treating you to extra doughnuts! From Friday, June 26th through Sunday, June 28th, the first 50 customers each day will receive a free doughnut with any purchase.” [Facebook]

Here’s Who Adopted Cupid the Cat — Cupid, an injured kitten brought to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington after being shot in the head with an arrow, has a new adoptive mother: NBC 4 meteorologist Lauryn Ricketts. Cupid made a recent appearance on the station’s morning weather report. [Instagram]

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