By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 1998; Page B01

With traffic backing up for miles and Wednesday's evening rush hour bearing down, District police rejected recommendations by Maryland and Virginia authorities to quickly reopen one of the East Coast's busiest highways by ending a standoff with a man threatening to jump off the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

The behind-the-scenes differences among the three jurisdictions were reflected yesterday in second-guessing among some police and government officials. They questioned whether it was necessary for D.C. authorities to close the bridge for 5 1/2 hours before Ivin L. Pointer, 32, was shot by a non-lethal "beanbag" and jumped from the 50-foot-tall bridge.

"Our commander in the area voiced that concern, along with Virginia State [Police], about opening the bridge as soon as possible" after the standoff began shortly after 1 p.m., said Maryland State Police spokesman Peter Piringer.

He said Maryland and Virginia state police were eager to open the bridge before the evening rush hour because they were "more familiar" with the traffic problems at the six-lane drawbridge – the region's worst bottleneck – than were D.C. police. Another police official said that Virginia State Police had expressed "grave concern" about how long the bridge, which carries 190,000 vehicles a day, would remain entirely closed.

D.C. police, who had jurisdiction in the incident on the federally owned bridge because it took place over the city's portion of the Potomac River, yesterday defended their decision to keep the bridge closed through the rush hour. The bridge carries the Capital Beltway (Interstate 95) over the river between Alexandria and Prince George's County.

D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said his officers had to assume that Pointer, distraught over a domestic dispute, was suicidal and armed – though no weapon was ever found. For the safety of motorists and police negotiators alike, Ramsey said, the entire bridge had to be closed, a move that several urban police officials across the nation agreed was correct.

Terrance W. Gainer, executive assistant D.C. police chief, said that during the standoff, he was approached by a Virginia State Police official who told him that Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) wanted the bridge reopened.

"We talked about it. I told him where we stood as far as our belief that the man was armed, and he understood," Gainer said. "He understood the predicament we were in and asked what they could do to help us."

The call to close the entire bridge was made originally by Alexandria police. They said they intended to close only the northern side of the bridge – where Pointer was – for the duration of the standoff.

"My concern was the side of the bridge my negotiators were on. We closed the other side for a short period," said Alexandria police Capt. Al Tierney. Once control passed to D.C. police, he said, they "decided to maintain the closure of the bridge on both sides."

Gainer said: "We took responsibility for the decision later. We took responsibility for the safety of the man who wanted to harm himself and the traveling public."

Some authorities on the scene reported that there initially was some confusion over which police department had jurisdiction on the bridge, but D.C. and Alexandria police disputed that. Still, Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) sent a letter yesterday to Gilmore and Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening, urging both states to reevaluate crisis response practices by police forces and establish a clear line of crisis decision-making.

Moran was among those yesterday questioning why D.C. police allowed the standoff to go on for so long.

"If it had been my call, I'd have just let him jump," said Moran, a former Alexandria mayor. "I'm concerned we're going to get more copycat incidents like this."

His argument was echoed by many commuters who were on routes clogged because of the 20-mile backup on the Beltway.

Ed Coleman, 47, a government auditor from Prince Frederick, Md., said he saw a D.C. ambulance with its lights flashing stuck in traffic on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and a police car, also with lights flashing, mired in a jam on the Suitland Parkway.

"How many people were deprived or didn't get the attention they needed quickly enough because of it?" he asked. "They just closed the [Wilson] bridge without taking into account all the implications for thousands of other people. . . . And to let something drag out for five hours, I have a hard time understanding that."

Officials from area police departments as well as representatives of the Maryland and Virginia highway departments held discussions yesterday about coping with traffic congestion created by problems on the Wilson Bridge. They said Wednesday's incident was a dramatic illustration of the need for a formal agreement among Virginia, Maryland and the District over how to address emergencies on the bridge.

Meanwhile, Pointer, of Alexandria, was listed in fair condition yesterday at Washington Hospital Center, where he was being treated for bruises and hypothermia and being evaluated for other injuries, D.C. police said. Sgt. Joe Gentile, a police spokesman, said authorities have filed papers seeking a mental evaluation of Pointer.

They also have charged Pointer with being a fugitive from justice for outstanding warrants in Alexandria, he said. Law enforcement sources said those warrants stem from an alleged violation of a preliminary protective order, which was sought by Charlene Williamson, who has a 4-year-old son with Pointer.

Other details about Pointer's background emerged yesterday.

In June 1997, Pointer was sentenced to seven months in the Arlington County jail for making obscene phone calls to an unidentified female acquaintance, according to court records.

Authorities believed that Pointer could be dangerous, especially after he had been in contact intermittently with Alexandria police a day before going to the Wilson Bridge. "We knew he was agitated," said Amy Bertsch, an Alexandria police spokeswoman.

On Oct. 26, Pointer was arrested by Alexandria police on a charge of assault and battery after he allegedly beat up Williamson, according to the arrest warrant. Pointer told the arresting officer that he had grabbed her by the arm and kicked a boot, which then struck her. The next day, Williamson filed for the preliminary protective order from Alexandria's juvenile court, alleging in an affidavit that Pointer had beaten her with a boot and his fists.

Pointer had been employed for one month by Norrell Information Services, which also does business as American Technical Resources, providing computer technical support at the International Monetary Fund, said Mike Knapp, human resources director for Norrell.

Sources said Pointer was fired last week, following his arrest, after he did not show up for work. He previously had been employed by another computer consultant at the IMF.

Staff writers Patricia Davis, Maria Elena Fernandez, Brooke A. Masters, Alice Reid, Jacqueline L. Salmon and Katherine Shaver contributed to this report.