Slain Youth, Officer Were Neighbors Worlds Apart

Encouraging people to unite as one community, ignoring an economic divide, was what H.R. Crawford, a former D.C. Council member, had in mind when he developed the gated community.

Initially, prices for Walter Washington properties began at $95,000 in the late 1990s. Now, homes there are selling for more than $300,000, still considered a bargain for a gated community in the Washington region.

"The whole point was to bring stability to the neighborhood by attracting police officers and schoolteachers," he said.

The shooting was personal for Crawford. He sold Haskel his house. DeOnt¿'s father, Charles Rawlings, works for Crawford as a custodian.

Haskel is "an outstanding young man," Crawford said. "He has lived in that community all his life." A picture of Haskel in his police helicopter, surrounded by children, hangs on a bulletin board at the neighborhood's Ferebee-Hope Elementary School.

In Condon Terrace, some teens are still drawing lines that they dare others to cross.

Police contend that DeOnté crossed a line when he fired at an officer.

But DeOnté's family said that he did not have a gun and that police made a tragic mistake.

Either way, DeOnté paid with his life.