By Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty no longer has a full-time police detail to protect him as he travels about the city on official business, preferring to drive his own vehicle, unaccompanied by officers.
Fenty (D) said he has not decided to abolish the security force, and the current situation is not necessarily permanent. When asked why he has been driving alone, without police protection, Fenty replied, in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Because I have a driver's license."
Prior D.C. chief executives have had little practice parallel parking while in office. Until last weekend, plainclothes officers transported Fenty in a two-vehicle motorcade to and from the John A. Wilson Building. At least three officers provided Secret Service-style protection for the mayor at all public events.
Fenty said he decided this month to go without constant police protection, and he has been driving his personal sport-utility vehicle on official duties.
It is a striking turnabout from early in his administration, when he traveled in a motorcade that frequently used emergency flashers and sirens to cut through traffic as he whipped around the city to attend community meetings.
It wasn't clear what prompted the change. One aide suggested that it stems from Fenty's supreme confidence in his knowledge of the city. The aide noted that when Fenty represented Ward 4 on the D.C. Council, he refused to let anyone drive him, telling aides who offered, "If someone else knows Ward 4 better, they can drive."
In response to questions about why he has been driving solo, Fenty said, "I've been driving myself since I was 16 years old."
The decision by the mayor of the nation's capital to go out on his own mystifies and worries some city officials.
"This raises legitimate concerns," said at-large council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the judiciary committee. "For three decades, we've been told by the police that the mayor needs a security detail. What's different now?"
Asked whether he thought he didn't need police protection, Fenty said he would only answer fact-based questions and did not want to "editorialize."
"I probably won't get into questions where you ask about protecting myself and security matters. I will answer basic questions about what I'm doing, how tall I am and what kind of car I'm driving," Fenty said.
D.C. police spokeswoman Traci Hughes said that the mayor's detail is "still in place" even if it's not visible. She said it is up to Fenty if he wants police protection.
Hughes declined to say where the officers assigned to cover Fenty were last week. "Even if they're not physically with the mayor, they're still protecting the mayor," she said.
Fenty's lone-wolf approach surprised some of his staff members, who first noticed the mayor behind the wheel when he arrived a week ago in his white Ford Expedition at a media event at the public schools textbook warehouse.
Spokeswoman Carrie Brooks said that Fenty might be testing what it's like to do business with no police detail. He left for a week-long vacation in Jamaica on Friday, and Brooks said she did not know whether he would continue driving himself when he returns.
The mayor's police detail has been a source of controversy over the years. When D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was mayor, more than 30 officers were assigned to protect him and his family at one point. Officers were asked to run personal errands for the Barrys, including buying cigarettes, but at other times were barred from having access to the mayor, according to media reports.
Barry's successor, Anthony A. Williams, also traveled on official business with police officers, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars as Williams crisscrossed the country.
Fenty said he had not asked Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier to dismiss officers from the security detail. A marked police car and uniformed officer still sit outside Fenty's home in the Northwest neighborhood of Crestwood, Fenty said.
Fenty has been characterized as a populist, but his man-of-the-people approach to getting around town might affect his productivity.
On Thursday night, he arrived an hour late for a neighborhood meeting on U Street. He was delayed in part because he had to find a parking space for his SUV in the busy nightlife district.
The mayor said that he follows traffic laws and always parks in a legal spot, even when running behind schedule.
In the past, mayors have often conducted business, including making phone calls and consulting with aides, while riding in the back seat of city-provided cars.
Brooks, Fenty's spokeswoman, said the mayor always uses a hands-free device for his cellphone and does not check BlackBerry messages while driving. Brooks said that during the day, Fenty usually travels with a secretary.
Fenty said he has not been slowed down by his solo approach to traveling and generally has had good luck finding places to park.
"This is U Street. If you can find a spot within half a block on U Street, then usually you can find one in the rest of the city," Fenty said Thursday night.
He then got in his SUV and drove home.
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