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Saturday, April 21, 2012 8:38 p.m.

Water main break near City Hall shuts down block

by Cory Weinberg

A pedestrian leaps across the water in an attempt to cross I Street at New Hampshire Avenue. Metropolitan Police officers closed down 24th Street between K Street and New Hampshire Avenue as water surged down the street southward. Francis Rivera | Assistant Photo Editor

A water main break near City Hall caused a river of water to flow down 24th Street on Saturday but an official with the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority said the break would likely do little damage to the street or surrounding buildings.

The Metropolitan Police Department shut down 24th Street between I and K streets at about 5 p.m. after the water main break spilled drinking water onto the street.

D.C. Water officials arrived at about 7:15 p.m. and the flooding ended by 8 p.m.

One official from D.C. Water said the water main below City Hall was likely the one that broke but he added that the other two water mains in the area would be inspected.

Some units in the Jefferson House apartments, also along 24th Street, did not have running water because of the water main break, but an official from D.C. Water said it should be restored with 24 hours.

Cars parked on the block started being towed away around 7 p.m. in case the street incurred any structural damage. The block will remain closed for the night.

- Monica Mehta, Gabriel Muller and Francis Rivera contributed to this report.

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Monday, April 2, 2012 9:06 p.m.

Male assaulted near Washington Circle

by Sarah Ferris

Officers stand near Washington Circle after an aggravated assault. Elise Apelian | Hatchet Staff Photographer

A male victim was assaulted at Washington Circle near New Hampshire Avenue at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Metropolitan Police Department public information officer Paul Metcalf said the aggravated assault sent the male to the hospital and put officers on the lookout for four to five black male subjects.

The victim was conscious and breathing, Metcalf said.

At about 7:45 p.m., officers had handcuffed two black males and were questioning a handful of others.

Metcalf said mace was involved, but he did not know whether officers or other subjects used the spray.

Officers on scene declined to comment.

- Priya Anand contributed to this report.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012 5:55 p.m.

Footage uncovered from decade-old protests near campus

by Priya Anand
IMF

The annual World Bank-International Monetary Fund meetings typically cause minor disturbances, but in 2002 it became the site of mass demonstrations leading to hundreds of arrests. Hatchet File Photo

Photos and video frames have surfaced documenting the city’s response to mass protests that saw hundreds of arrests on the edge of the Foggy Bottom Campus in September 2002.

The footage of a weekend of demonstrations against the annual World Bank-International Monetary Fund meetings that year has become evidence in a lawsuit against the District and the Metropolitan Police Department, who arrested about 400 protesters – including a handful of former students who are still battling the case, according to The Washington Post.

The former students, whose case a decade later is still in legal limbo, are looking to change how police respond to large-scale demonstrations, according to The Post. The discovery of new video frames follow claims by city officials that documentation beyond limited surveillance recordings did not exist. Some of the plaintiffs are former Hatchet employees.

“Lawyers for the plaintiffs hope the photographs can bolster their argument that police and government officials have a pattern of making dishonest and contradictory statements about evidence in the case,” according to The Post.

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Friday, March 2, 2012 8:56 a.m.

Controlled blasting to begin at SEH construction site

by Priya Anand

Controlled blasts at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site are slated to begin in mid-March. | Hatchet File Photo

Controlled blasting will begin at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site in mid-March.

The typically noisy construction technique will mostly take place between 10:30 and 11 a.m., according to an e-mail sent by the Office of the Dean of Students to residents of JBKO, Munson, Fulbright and Madison halls.

The Metropolitan Police Department will guide temporary road closures just before and during each set of blasts.

Blaring air horns will signal the start of the blasting to notify workers and the public 15 minutes, five minutes and one minute ahead of the activity, according to the e-mail. One horn after will sound afterward. The vibrations and noise from the blasts will be comparable to a door slamming or large truck driving driving by.

“First, let us stress that these activities are highly monitored to ensure they fall within the regulated limits and do not adversely affect any adjacent structures,” the e-mail read. “The university has undertaken numerous safety and security measures, including extensive site analysis.”

GW has placed seismographs in nearby buildings to track vibrations during the blasting to make sure the blasts are within acceptable safety limits.

The notice recommended that residents in buildings near the construction site shut their windows because the blasting “agitates soil.”

University spokeswoman Jill Sankey said soil conditions will determine the exact date blasts will begin, but the projection is mid-March or later.

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Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 8:17 p.m.

Former student to face trial for allegedly attacking another student

by Priya Anand
superior court, dc courthouse

Former student Ross Richardson will go to trial May 14 for misdemeanor simple assault charges at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Photo used under the Creative Commons License.

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Brianna Gurciullo.

The D.C. Superior Court set a May trial date Tuesday for a former student who allegedly beat up another student nearly a year ago.

Ross Richardson, who was arrested March 6, 2011 by University Police officers after witnesses saw him attack another male student in Ivory Tower, will go to trial May 14 for misdemeanor simple assault charges.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges last month, prompting the court to move forward at a status hearing Tuesday to schedule a trial. Under D.C. law, this type of charge faces a trial by a judge instead of a jury, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Bill Miller said.

The Metropolitan Police Department classified the case as a hate crime in its initial report, after two witnesses heard Richardson call the victim a “fag” while punching him. The court is not pursuing that charge.

His misdemeanor simple assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in prison with a $1,000 fine.

The victim – who witnesses saw Richardson punch and push against a wall and kick while he was lying on the ground – suffered severe head trauma and was transported to GW Hospital for injuries, including bleeding in his brain.

University spokeswoman Jill Sankey said Richardson, who was a senior at the time of his arrest, has not earned a degree from GW.

Pamela Satterfield, Richardson’s defense attorney, declined to comment on her client’s plea and impending trial.

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Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 11:16 a.m.

Freshman punches UPD officer during marijuana arrest

by Priya Anand

A freshman student was arrested Tuesday after a chase by University Police officers, who caught him with more than an ounce of pot in Thurston Hall.

A UPD officer received a radio call for suspected marijuana at about 1 a.m., according to Metropolitan Police documents, and Matthew Strauss attempted to flee the scene. He then punched a security officer in the face “to make good his escape,” UPD Chief Kevin Hay said.

An officer chased him toward Mitchell Hall, where Strauss tossed his bag down a window well at the U.S. General Services Administration building across the street. UPD officers arrested him for possession of marijuana and a simple assault, according to the documents.

Officers found the marijuana, a black scale and about $158 in his bag.

The subject was transported to the Second District Metropolitan Police Department station.

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Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 7:27 p.m.

Former student to face court for allegedly assaulting another student

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Jacqueline Drayer.

A former student who allegedly attacked another student last March is scheduled to appear at D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning.

Ross Richardson, arrested March 6, 2011 by University Police Department officers after witnesses saw him kick and punch another male student, is facing misdemeanor simple assault charges.

The maximum penalty for that charge is 180 days in prison with a $1,000-fine, Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said.

The Hatchet reported in March that the Metropolitan Police Department classified the case as a hate crime in its initial report, after witnesses told officers they heard Richardson call the victim a “fag” during the incident. The court is not pursuing hate crime charges.

One witness saw Richardson kick the victim’s stomach multiple times while the victim was lying on the ground. A second witness saw Richardson shove the victim against a wall while punching him and calling him names.

The victim was transported to GW Hospital for severe head trauma, including bleeding in his brain. In an Infomail four days later, Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security Darrell Darnell said the “possible hate crime” and violence of any nature was “upsetting and unacceptable to our community.”

If Richardson pleads not guilty, the case will move to a trial, Miller said. He declined to comment specifically on Richardson’s case because it is a pending court matter.

Pamela Satterfield, Richardson’s defense attorney, and Marnitta King, the victim’s lawyer, also declined to comment.

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Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 3:46 p.m.

Female employee waits hours to report man with gun at Medical Faculty Associates

by Priya Anand
MFA, medical faculty associates

The entrance to the Medical Faculty Associates building is located at 2150 Pennsylvania Ave. File photo

A man entered the Medical Faculty Associates building at about 9 a.m. this morning and allegedly pointed a gun at a female employee.

At about 11:47 a.m., the employee notified MFA officials who contacted law enforcement at about 12:30 p.m., according to a statement from the MFA. The the 32-year-old suspect, Tebarek Waktola, is believed to have left campus at about 10:15 a.m., according to a GW Alert. Waktola and the female employee were connected through the MFA, a statement from program said.

The employee said the 5-foot-7-inch black man she spoke with appeared to display a handgun, according to the MFA statement, and was later seen at the Foggy Bottom Metro station.

A GW Alert went out to the campus community shortly after 1 p.m., after the University Police Department received word at 12:30 p.m.

The Metropolitan Police Department received a call that a subject pulled out a gun at the MFA at about 12:42 p.m., public information officer Hugh Carew said.

Police officers sweeped the building following the reports, the practice’s director of marketing Kathryn Kennedy McGriff said. She added that the building has round-the-clock security and is equipped with surveillance cameras that also monitor all checkpoints and entrances.

UPD released a photo of Waktola, asking individuals to call the department if they see him.

The MFA building is at 2150 Pennsylvania Ave.

Lauren French contributed to this report.

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Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 11:09 p.m.

Elderly man barred from campus for watching pornography in Gelman Library

by Priya Anand

Updated, Dec. 7, 12:30 p.m.

The University Police Department is investigating an an elderly who was caught watching pornography in Gelman Library, the unit’s leader said Tuesday night.

“Students called in a complaint of a man viewing pornography, possibly of children,” UPD Chief Kevin Hay said. Officers barred the man, in his late 60s, from campus.

Metropolitan Police also responded to the scene to assist UPD, Hay said, but the man was not arrested.

Hay said evidence for the case is “not conclusive” based on materials “recovered and observed thus far” and the investigation is continuing.

Officers originally thought the man was an alumnus but later discovered he was not.

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Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 7:55 p.m.

U.S. Attorney’s office will not file charges in case of graduate student’s death

by Priya Anand

Patrick Casey. Photo courtesy of Stephen Atwood.

The U.S. Attorney’s office will not prosecute any individuals for graduate student Patrick Casey’s death following a fight in late September, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office worked with the Metropolitan Police Department to thoroughly investigate the death of Patrick Casey and determined that there isn’t sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges in the case,” spokesman Bill Miller said.

Casey, a 33-year-old Afghanistan war veteran who died of severe head trauma after falling to the ground when someone pushed or punched him, was likely drinking that night, police said in October. They also said he was “irritating” other patrons at the McDonald’s restaurant at 1916 M Street where the fight that led to his hospitalization broke out, but not necessarily instigating an altercation.

MPD began investigating Casey’s death as a homicide shortly after initially labeling the case a felony assault. The department’s spokeswoman, Gwendolyn Crump, declined to comment on the status of that investigation and referred all questions to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Miller said the office, working with MPD, interviewed witnesses and evaluated physical, documentary, photographic and video evidence before reaching a conclusion.

“Two law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to speak about the case, said the department has closed its investigation, classifying Casey’s death a ‘justifiable homicide by citizen,’” according to The Washington Post.

Casey came to D.C. in August a master’s student at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Friends and family described the 6-foot-4-inch Clifton Park, N.Y. native as “a big teddy bear.”

The University held a memorial service for Casey Oct. 6.

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