Scenes From an Inauguration

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty owes the people of Washington and the nation a deep apology for the disgraceful way in which the police handled some aspects of President Barack Obama's inauguration yesterday.

My family and I arrived before 5 a.m. in hopes of getting a spot on the Mall. We and tens of thousands of others were channeled down Seventh Street by police who told us that admission to the Mall would begin about 7. Instead, more than four hours passed without a word of information being given to the enormous crowd that was gathering. Most disturbing was the spectacle of what appeared to be D.C. police officers in a second-floor office watching the obvious suffering of the people below. Just a few simple announcements by officers on bullhorns could have provided us some basis for action.

As it happened, after 9:30 we finally learned from others in the crowd that there would be no Mall access from this location, leaving only the possibility of seeing the parade. In other words, more hours in the cold.

I live in the Washington area, but people around me hailed from all over the country. Washington did not show itself in a good light at Seventh and D Streets.

ALLAN HAUER

Arlington

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