ANTHONY LORENZO GREEN

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER

SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT 7C04

June 24, 2018

Peter Newsham
Chief of Police
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
300 Indiana Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

Re: Stop-and-frisk in front of 5214-5216 Sheriff Rd NE

Dear Chief Newsham,

Sometime last week, in front of the business establishments of Nook’s Barber and Beauty
Salon located at 5214 Sheriff Rd NE and Little Jewels Child Development Center
located at 5216 Sheriff Rd NE in my single member district, MPD officers pulled up and
immediately started searching a young man that resulted in the recovery of a gun or BB
gun. MPD officers immediately used that as a reason to start searching other young
men that have congregated in front of this very popular establishment without their
permission or consent. No one was arrested because none of the other men had drugs
or firearms in their possession. The officers acknowledged they did not get a call for
loitering. It was eventually discovered that the young man that was initially searched
was an undercover police officer. Because of the police terrorism in our community,
many of our young men remained silent out of fear. But on Friday, June 22, 2018, they
chose to be silent no more and posted videos of the incident on social media.

I am a 32y/o DC native and I grew up in the Deanwood community. Many of the

young men you see in this neighborhood may have attended H.D. Woodson during the
time I was a student or Merritt Elementary, which is now the headquarters for Sixth
District Police. Because we are a tight-knit community, it’s very easy to notice when
something or someone is out of place. For over the last 35 hours since this was brought
to my attention, I have been speaking with community members and reviewing
numerous videos posted on social media to figure out what kind of “community
policing” does MPD consider this to be?

We are a community that proudly supports our black-owned businesses. It’s not
unheard of for people from different corners of our city to patronize Nook’s for
barbering and salon services. But how can you justify officers coming into my
neighborhood, plant an undercover officer in front of this establishment with a gun, just
to create an opportunity to perform stop-and-frisk on young men in my community?
How can you justify your officers entering Little Jewels for no reason at all? I find that

920 49th St NE, Washington, DC 20019 | (202) 600-9834 | 7c04@anc.dc.gov

 ANTHONY LORENZO GREEN
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER
SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT 7C04

appalling and this racist practice of policing against black and brown people must end
now!

The Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act of 2016 requires MPD to
collect certain data, that includes the date, age, race, and location of a stop, which
your department has partially done since the enactment. What I find interesting is your
department continues to fail to collect other data, such as the violation that lead to the
stop, if a search was conducted, the reason for the search, and whether an arrest was
made because of the stop or search. I am convinced your department is not collecting
that data because you want to hide the fact that your officers are making up
opportunities to harass black and brown people in our city. Anytime your department
feels the need to place an undercover officer near other young black men, use a
search of that undercover officer as a justification to stop-and-frisk those young black
men, is a complete violation of their civil rights.

I am fully aware that the corner of Sheriff Rd and Eastern Ave NE has a long history of
criminal activity. I worked closely with the Office of the DC Attorney General over the
last year to bring the property owner in compliance in abating the nuisances at 1100-
1102 Eastern Ave NE. That included addressing the lighting issues, ensuring sufficient
security cameras are placed inside and around the stores, and installing a fence on
half of the parking lot to prevent that activity near Sunny’s Carryout and Uncle Lee’s
Liquors. These actions were made to deter real crime near these businesses.

What will not be tolerated in my community is the violation of the fundamental right
against unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to be free of cruel and unusual
treatment. Taking our grandmothers out for coffee and donuts, only to create a false
narrative to promote on social media, does not give your department a free pass to
subject their sons and grandsons to disproportionate and unfair treatment. You owe my
community, Nook’s Barber and Beauty Salon, Little Jewels Child Development Center,
and all the young men you violated a public apology.

The death of Jeffrey Price is still fresh in our minds. The greater Deanwood community
does not need MPD to be creating more circumstances to take another black man off
the street in a body bag.

Sincerely,

Anthony Lorenzo Green

ANC Commissioner 7C04

920 49th St NE, Washington, DC 20019 | (202) 600-9834 | 7c04@anc.dc.gov

 ANTHONY LORENZO GREEN
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER
SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT 7C04

cc: Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia

Kevin Donahue, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice
David Taylor, MPD Sixth District Commander
Phil Mendelson, Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia
Vincent C. Gray, Ward 7 Councilmember
Charles Allen, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety

920 49th St NE, Washington, DC 20019 | (202) 600-9834 | 7c04@anc.dc.gov