D.C. Has Weekend Free of Shootings

"These initiatives have to be viewed in a larger context of crime," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), head of the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee. "It is really about whether, in fact, initiatives like this are reducing crime over the long run. You can't really judge the effectiveness of the police based on one weekend."

The two slaying suspects arrested over the weekend were from Maryland and were charged with unrelated killings.

Timothy Flack, 24, of Temple Hills was arrested in the fatal shooting Oct. 4 of Nigel Keitt, 17, who was found in the 3000 block of Naylor Road SE.

J.P. Battle, 40, of Capitol Heights was taken into custody for the stabbing death Dec. 4 of Vincent Simpson, 26, whose body was found in the 4900 block of Quarles Street NE.

The number of arrests over the weekend was on the low end, compared with other All Hands on Deck weekends. There were 688 arrests the weekend of June 6 and 481 arrests the weekend of Nov. 2.

Violent crime remained a problem during the earlier initiatives. From Nov. 2 to 4, the city recorded two homicides, three sexual abuse cases, 31 robberies and 26 assaults. On July 28, seven people, including a 3-year-old child, were wounded at the Edgewood Terrace apartments in Northeast Washington.

All Hands on Deck has not cost the department a great deal in overtime. The first one, in June, cost $1.2 million, but for the next four, Lanier arranged schedules in advance so that most officers would not work overtime.