Directive Details Trinidad Checks

Some pointed out that there are many ways in and out of Trinidad, which could render the program ineffective. Lamar Greene, the 5th District commander, said, however, that the checkpoint will be combined with increased street patrols and deployment of specialty units.

Police will search cars if they suspect the presence of guns or drugs. The enforcement will occur at random hours and last for five days, with the option of extending it to 10.

D.C. Council members are skeptical of the plan. Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said yesterday that he plans to hold a public hearing on the issue.

Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) said the initiative appears haphazard and could put officers in danger. He called on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to develop a comprehensive crime-fighting plan. "It's clear that all of us are concerned about violence and murder, but the mayor has no overall strategy," he said.

"Do you think . . . murderers are going to tell police they are there to kill somebody?" Barry asked.

Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said the plan could be viewed as an infringement on civil liberties. "It's an extraordinary measure, but it's likely to raise some constitutional questions," Gray said.

Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), a law professor at George Washington University, said the police department is establishing a distressing pattern. She cited its recent plans to arm patrol officers with AR-15 semiautomatic weapons and another plan to ask residents to submit to voluntary searches of their homes for illegal guns.

"They seem to lack . . . an ordinary sense of commonly protected rights," Cheh said. "I assume they are acting out of good motivation, but they really have to look into the methods. It's really outrageous."

But Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) was supportive of the plan. "I commend the chief because she is doing her very best to come up with innovative ways to help resolve" the crisis, he said.