Event on Shooting Ends in Disarray

Fenty, who had a reputation as a hands-on, community-savvy D.C. Council member, noted that the ongoing investigation into the officers' conduct means that some of the evidence must remain private.

"You have to move forward to get all the information out, but you do not want to jeopardize the criminal case," Fenty said. "You want to get the information out because if you don't, you'll hurt the confidence of the public. But if you turn over information that is incorrect, that also is a dereliction of my duties."

Fenty learned of the shooting Monday from Lanier, who called him during his dinner at a downtown hotel with Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald E. Connolly and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.

The mayor immediately set off for the scene, where he and Lanier briefed reporters. The following morning, the pair had a news conference at police headquarters, where they announced that the gun the teenager had allegedly fired at the off-duty officers had not been found. Then on Wednesday came another news conference to announce that the case had been turned over to the U.S. attorney's office.

Ray Jackson, 53, a carpenter who lives nearby in Congress Heights, said Fenty seemed in control. But, he said, "people want him to come out and say more. In Ward 8, people didn't trust the police anyway, and with this incident, you know they don't trust them now. When you can't get information, it creates tension, the citizens figure the police are holding something back."

The mayor's quick move to bring in the U.S. attorney and the FBI has frustrated some police officers, who said yesterday that they feel Fenty is "pandering" to the family of a boy who tried to kill a police officer.

"The general consensus is we don't like the way the mayor is placating the family," said one officer, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized by his supervisors to comment. "They are ultimately doing it for politics because . . . they don't want it to be an us-against-them situation."

Theresa Jones, who lives about four blocks from where the shooting took place, said she was glad Fenty brought in outside scrutiny.

"The mayor has brought some validity to the investigation," said Jones, who has lived in her home since 1970. "I've never been in favor of police investigating themselves."

Former D.C. police chief Charles H. Ramsey said that striking the right balance between keeping the public informed and maintaining an ongoing criminal investigation is difficult. But Ramsey stressed that he would not have held as many news conference as Fenty has had.

"You're concerned about all parties, but the main thing is you have to get to the bottom of the case," Ramsey said. "That's why you don't get too specific until you start getting the investigation going. If you put a lot out there because there is a lot of pressure to try to accommodate people, but you find out later that one or two elements are missing, people will think you are withholding things. But as things unfold, what you originally thought was true may not wind up that way."

That is why some federal authorities were appalled when Lanier, at Fenty's behest, agreed to appear at yesterday's news conference. They feared that by dribbling out too much information, Fenty risked compromising the recollections of witnesses, making it difficult for investigators to get reliable accounts.

Taylor, the U.S. attorney, declined to comment on the matter.

When Fenty invited DeOnt¿'s sisters to the lectern and handed them the microphone, said one federal source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the result "could have been a train wreck" given that the sisters could have recounted their version of events on television.

That possibility did not seem to bother the mayor. As he concluded the news conference, he took a final question from another community member, who asked what he intended to do about the distrust between residents and the police.

"We're going to conduct an open, honest, thorough investigation," Fenty responded, before walking across the street and shaking hands with three other residents who asked for his autograph.

Staff writers Allison Klein, Allan Lengel and Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.