By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 16, 2007
One D.C. police officer helped himself to a woman's credit card while investigating a burglary at her home, another allegedly spit on a nightclub bouncer in a drunken rage and a third was caught soliciting sex within 10 blocks of police headquarters.
They are among 34 members of the D.C. police department arrested this year on assault, fraud, drunken driving and other charges, the largest number in at least five years.
Although the percentage of officers arrested on the 3,800-member force is small, this year's total is 10 more than last year's. At least five cases involve on-duty conduct, but the majority stem from off-duty activities. Thirteen officers were arrested on domestic violence charges, 10 for drunken driving.
Police officials refused to provide many details, initially denying a request under the Freedom of Information Act. After The Washington Post appealed, officials agreed to provide a general breakdown of cases but refused to release names, saying they were concerned about the officers' privacy and noting that some cases could be dismissed.
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, who took office a year ago, said she relied on the advice of the city's attorneys in not releasing the officers' identities. The Post obtained more than a dozen names through court records and other law enforcement sources.
Lanier said she began noticing an increase in domestic violence and alcohol-related arrests at the end of last year. Some trouble could be related to job stress from overtime that officers were forced to work last year, she said. But she added that she has little tolerance for officers committing crimes.
"Once you've embarrassed the department or shown me you don't have integrity, I don't want you back," she said. In most cases, when officers are arrested, their badges and guns are taken away and they are put on desk duty until the charges are resolved. In cases involving drugs or sexual assault, officers typically are barred from the workplace. In traffic offense cases, including drunken driving, officers could be returned to the streets pending outcomes.
Four officers have been fired for criminal misconduct that includes child abuse, drug charges and leaving the scene of an accident.
The charges this year are a far cry from the scandals that followed a hiring blitz in 1989 and 1990, when the department cut corners on recruiting, background checks and training. About 200 officers were charged with crimes between then and 1996, including the so-called Dirty Dozen, a group caught in a federal drug sting. But this year's cases still represent a wide range of alleged misconduct. Two of those arrested this year were civilian employees; the rest were officers.
Donnay A. Davis, an officer assigned to the 5th Police District, pleaded guilty within two months of his arrest on charges of stealing the homeowner's credit card. Davis spotted the card while investigating a burglar alarm Aug. 27 at the Northeast Washington home.
Davis, 25, tried to activate the card and attempted three times to withdraw a total of $1,700 in cash. He got no money and was videotaped in one attempt. He pleaded guilty to attempted bank fraud and awaits sentencing next month.
Officer Talika Moore was arrested Nov. 10 in front of the Avenue nightclub in Northwest Washington after she spat on a bouncer who would not let her inside because she was drunk and stumbling, according to charging papers.
"I'm the police and I'm gonna get inside," she said, according to the papers. The incident was captured on video. Moore, 27, had worked at the police academy. She faces a hearing Jan. 7 in D.C. Superior Court.
A vice sting snared Officer Jeffrey McLaughlin, 42, who encountered an undercover officer posing as a prostitute about 10 blocks from police headquarters in downtown Washington on July 13. McLaughlin offered her $50 for sex, authorities said. Prosecutors agreed to drop the case when he promised to go to a diversion program known as "john school."
Gaithersburg police arrested D.C. Officer Sarah Guarin, 25, in September on charges of drunken driving, court documents show. Her trial is scheduled for March.
Harold Martin, a Washington defense lawyer who represents about a half-dozen officers facing criminal cases -- including Davis, Moore and McLaughlin -- said of the matters, "This is more personal drama as opposed to abuse of their position."
Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Committee, declined to comment for this article.
Some of the charges this year stem from incidents in previous years, such as the case of Jerome Merrill, 31, who is charged in U.S. District Court with using a deadly weapon during a crime of violence. Merrill is accused of using his service weapon to pistol-whip a drug dealer in February 2005. He pleaded not guilty and faces trial in February.
Two officers from the 1st Police District, Nathan Minor and Peter Snipes, pleaded guilty in October to making false statements to cover up an August 2006 incident in which they mistakenly let a prisoner escape.
Minor and Snipes admitted to concocting a story to explain how the prisoner got away from them at Howard University Hospital. They claimed that he kicked Minor in the stomach before running out. It turned out that neither officer was near the prisoner when he fled. Minor, 33, is to be sentenced Friday, and Snipes, 32, is to be sentenced next month.
Officer Elijah Shahid was accused of shooting his wife, also an officer, in the leg in August 2006. That case was dropped after his wife declined to testify against him, prosecutors said. Shahid, 35, who worked in the 7th Police District, was dismissed from the police force in February. The number of officers arrested this year in the District is significantly higher than in other departments along the East Coast. In Baltimore, a department with about 3,200 officers, three trainees were arrested this year, according to Baltimore police. In Philadelphia, which has a 6,000-member force, 23 officers have been arrested this year, officials said.
Local jurisdictions have their share of problems, too. In Montgomery County, which has about 1,150 officers, 10 officers were charged with billing a part-time employer for hours worked while they were supposedly on duty. Eight pleaded guilty; two await trial. In Fairfax County, which has about 1,200 officers, five have been charged with crimes this year, according to Fairfax police.
Inspector Matt Klein, who heads the D.C. police internal affairs division, said the department takes its cases seriously and assigns an investigator to follow each one. He added that the arrests should be put in perspective.
"The vast majority of officers in the department are outstanding, hard-working officers that never cross paths with internal affairs," he said.
Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham, who is in charge of the internal affairs bureau, said the department will start a training program to educate officers about domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
"We are bothered by the fact that there are so many domestic violence and alcohol-related arrests," Newsham said. "The department will take action and have a campaign to inform and train our people to avoid these types of things."
He said all arrested officers are ordered to an employee assistance program for an evaluation. "We anticipate improvement next year," Newsham said.
Staff writers Tom Jackman and Ernesto Londo¿o and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
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