Saturday, August 5, 2006

Diana Horvat [letters, July 28] shared her experience of the police department's inaction after she was mugged. I can one-up that.

On July 13, 2000, at 11 a.m., I was shot through the head outside a convenience store on Sherman Avenue NW. I was transported to the Washington Hospital Center. The staff there quickly saved my life. I survived with diminished hearing and a slightly dislocated jaw. After a six-day stay at the hospital and two weeks recuperating at home, I went back to work.

Although the police department knew about the shooting and officers had been at the scene, at no time did the police contact me or come to interview me. Nothing was done for weeks even though there had been an eyewitness. Finally outraged, I wrote to the mayor's office and sent copies of the letter to The Post and the chief of police.

In due time a detective appeared at my door to apologize and to request an interview at the local station, which seemed more of a formality rather than a serious desire to obtain pertinent information. And that was the end of it to this day.

Since I was not in Georgetown or a luminary, I guess my life was insignificant.

How many other people has my assailant shot?

WILLIAM C. COOK JR.

Washington