Police Hold Metro Inspections

A special Metro transit police detail, including a K9 team, inspected the District's Stadium-Armory Metrorail station this morning looking for suspicious activity as part of a program to heighten police visibility during rush hour.

Media were asked not to broadcast the name of the station until the inspections began at 7:30.

The officers and their dogs spread out along the length of the station platform, greeting passengers and inspecting all trains passing in and out of the station. The exercise lasted until 9 a.m..

Some passengers arriving at the station this morning were disconcerted initially at the sight of 22 uniformed transit officers wearing vests with green fluorescent stripes.

Shortly after 8 am, Jerry Cunningham, 53, an administrative assistant for a Rockville law firm, descended the station and wondered what was going on and whether she should turn around and go home. "What are they doing? Are they looking for something,?" she said.

Told that the police presence was an exercise to increase their visibility, Cunningham's face and shoulders relaxed. "Oh. Okay," she said. "I'm glad."

Connie Pugh, 40, an auditor with the Office of the D.C. Auditor was wondering the same thing as she waited for a train. "I see dogs, so I wondered whether there was a bomb threat," she said.

As crowded Orange Line trains pulled into the station from New Carrollton, officers poked their heads in each rail car to inspect the train and greeted startled passengers, some of whom continued to stare out the windows as the train pulled out of the station.

Transit police chief Polly Hanson, who was a member of this morning's detail, said the purpose of the targeted train inspection program is to increase police visibility without additional cost.

Metro transit police plan to continue the inspections indefinitely, choosing stations at random. "They're glad to see us," said Lt. Kevin Gaddis, "and once they find out why we're here they ask when we're coming back or can we come back this afternoon."

The Metro police officers tapped for the detail normally work at Metro headquarters downtown. The inspections do not pull transit officers from patrol assignments or require additional personnel or overtime hours, Metro officials said.

"This is a way to give officers a super-high visibility," said Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein, who said the officers will also be able to talk to riders about safety and security.

Transit officers have already conducted inspections at several other stations including Columbia Heights, Foggy Bottom, Suitland, Anacostia, East Falls Church and Fort Totten, she said.

The Stadium-Armory stop is on the Blue and Orange lines on East Capitol Street in the District, about 20 blocks east of the U.S. Capitol.