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Friday, April 20, 2012 3:37 p.m.

Student robbed, sexually assaulted on way home from bar

by Cory Weinberg

Updated April 20, 6:21 p.m.

A male student was robbed and sexually assaulted on his way home from a bar near Dupont Circle early Friday morning, according to a Crime Alert sent by the University Police Department.

The suspect, described in the Crime Alert as a black man with dreadlocks wearing red shorts, allegedly threatened the student with a knife and demanded the student’s belongings.

The student first contacted UPD and was “transported via EMeRG to [a] local hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” UPD Chief Kevin Hay said in an e-mail. UPD and Metropolitan Police Department officers searched the area but did not find the suspect.

The student was walking alone back from a bar on the 1200 block of 18th Street, near Connecticut Avenue and Dupont Circle.

Hay said the exact time and place of the sexual assault and robbery is unknown because “the victim was very traumatized.”

The investigation is ongoing, according to the Crime Alert, which was sent via e-mail and text message at 5:32 a.m. Friday morning.

A Metropolitan Police Department public information officer said MPD was still processing its report.

MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit is heading up the investigation, Hay said, with UPD acting as support.

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Monday, April 9, 2012 11:48 a.m.

Female student reports act of voyeurism in Potomac House

by Cory Weinberg

A male student may face disciplinary action after he allegedly photographed a naked, sleeping female student, and then showed it to a friend.

The female student reported April 3 the act of voyeurism to the University Police Department after discovering that the male student had taken the photograph.

She did not press charges. The case was referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

UPD Captain of Investigations and Special Operations Mark Balazik said the male and female students knew each other.

The names of the students were not released by the University Police Department.

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Friday, April 6, 2012 10:07 a.m.

University makes case to city for GW Museum

by The GW Hatchet

The four-story GW Museum that will be located at 21st and G streets will be made of limestone. Photo courtesy of the GW Office of Community Relations

This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Frankie Kane.

The D.C. Zoning Commission held off on a decision for the GW Museum at a hearing Thursday, asking for further details on traffic surrounding the site.

After the University made its case for the $22 million project that will weave a partnership with the cross-town Textile Museum and house historical city artifacts, the commission delayed taking action on the museum, requesting more information on GW’s plans for 21st and G streets.

The project will transform the University Police Department’s headquarters at the Woodhull House into a four-story home for art from around the world and District but potentially draw more traffic to the area. GW is slated to return to the city agency May 14 and offer details on how it plans to unload and load buses on G Street and regulate traffic along 21st Street.

The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the area’s top advocacy group, drafted a letter to the zoning body March 22, outlining concerns related to traffic and pedestrian safety problems that might arise near the site. But the group took no formal position of support or opposition to the project.

“This ANC is never afraid to take a position,” Zoning commission chairman Anthony Hood noted.

The zoning commission also hopes to see the D.C. Fire Department’s stance on how loading and unloading of buses would affect emergency vehicles near the site, after the West End Citizens Association – another neighborhood group – submitted a statement citing its traffic safety worries.

Following zoning approval for the project, the museum will need the go-ahead from the National Capital Planning Commission.

The new building – constructed out of limestone similar to Lisner Hall and the Hall of Government – will offer a main entrance on 21st Street and a second entry on G Street. It will also feature a gift shop.

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Thursday, March 29, 2012 8:58 a.m.

UPD passes accreditation test by outside agency

by Cory Weinberg
UPD, university police

The University Police Department was awarded a seal of approval Wednesday from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Hatchet File Photo

The University Police Department earned a stamp of approval from a top outside accrediting agency Wednesday, rounding out an approval process that has lasted the academic year.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies awarded its third consecutive accreditation to UPD, which was judged on about 480 different standards, including training, personnel, hiring practices and use-of-force policies.

CALEA representatives elicited mostly positive feedback from the community in a sparsely attended forum in December. Two assessors also spent three days on campus that month and reviewed the UPD’s records from the past three years.

The international body first judged UPD in 2006 and re-accredited it three years later.

About 80 other campus security branches around the country are also involved in the CALEA certification program. UPD and the U.S. Capitol Police are the only District police departments with the certification.

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Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 6:27 p.m.

Server outage takes out Internet, GWorld across campus

by Andrea Vittorio

A handful of dining venues experienced temporary GWorld outages for more than 12 hours today due to a server problem in South Hall. | Hatchet File Photo

A simultaneous Internet and GWorld outage hit areas of campus early this morning and continued for more than 12 hours.

The Division of Information Technology and Facilities Management worked since about 2 a.m. Sunday to resolve a power outage in South Hall that caused in-house network equipment and servers to go down, knocking out Internet, telephone and cable TV access in the residence hall, interior GWorld readers at Lafayette Hall and network services in neighboring buildings.

GWorld issues were also reported, affecting Colonial Cash deposits, debit parking, vending, laundry and off-campus vendors from The Avenue complex to Ivory Tower. GWorld services were restored Sunday at 3:45 p.m., Rachel Blevins, marketing and communications manager for the Division of Information Technology, said.

To mitigate the impact of the outage, IT administrators contacted various departments, including the University Police Department to resolve building access issues related to the GWorld outage.

Electricians worked with with external vendors to repair the equipment in South Hall and restored GWorld operations by switching to a backup server, Blevins said.

Michael Walker, a support analyst in the Division of Information Technology, said he received an alert from administrators at about 5 a.m. and the server outage was resolved at 4:45 p.m. He said he could not provide details of its cause due to “a security issue.”

Though he said it was not a common occurrence, Walker did not expect such an outage to happen again.

“We have certain things in place for this not to happen,” he said.

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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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Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 1:02 p.m.

University, UPD union reach agreement

by Priya Anand
UPD, university police

A majority of voting officers must approve the proposal reached by the University and union leaders. Hatchet File Photo.

Updated Feb. 18, 7:24 p.m.

The University and union leaders reached a contract agreement for unionized University Police officers Friday, following weeks of strained negotiations.

The deal comes about two weeks after officers in the International Union, Security, Police, Fire Professionals of America nixed a proposed contract in a 45-9 vote, citing frustrations over a lack of nighttime shift pay raises and a policy that would allow supervisors to cancel an officer’s previously approved leave in emergency cases.

The new agreement boosts the wage for night differentials – pay for work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. – from 75 cents per hour to 85 cents per hour for the first year of the three-year contract. It also includes a provision for supervisors to be drafted first in emergency cases, rather than canceling officers’ approved leave.

“We are pleased to have again reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement with the UPD negotiating team,” the union and University said in a joint statement provided by the Office of Media Relations. “We look forward to prompt ratification of the agreement by the bargaining unit.”

The proposal must still receive approval from a majority of voting officers by Monday.

“We sincerely hope itll be accepted by the members,” Guy Thomas, one of the union’s national directors, said. “It’s a good contract and we hope it’s ratified.”

Officers planned to picket outside their headquarters at the Woodhull House – still working scheduled shifts but forming a line and handing out literature during personal time – if the most recent round of talks failed.

The deal that faltered two weeks ago lacked a wage increase for night differentials – pay for work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. It also offered a 3-percent wage hike for the first year of a three-year contract but opened up pay negotiations for the later two years.

Darrin Carter, leader of the Local 294 branch of the union UPD officers fall under, confirmed that the two sides reached a deal but did not return a request for comment on the agreement.

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Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 9:39 a.m.

Fraud suspect arrested outside of Whole Foods

by Cory Weinberg
Whole Foods Eye Street

The Metropolitan Police Department took a fraud suspect into custody outside Whole Foods Saturday night. The suspect had been attempting to convince student to loan her money. Hatchet File Photo

A woman who has allegedly defrauded multiple students since October was arrested Saturday night outside of Whole Foods.

A Jan. 20 Crime Alert warned that the fraud suspect had coaxed students into loaning her over $100 each.

A student called University Police Saturday after recognizing the suspect, whose photo was posted in residence halls three weeks ago. The suspect was asking shoppers for money inside the grocery story, University Police Department Chief Kevin Hay said Wednesday.

After UPD called the Metropolitan Police Department for assistance, MPD took the woman into custody on an arrest warrant for failure to appear in court in a previous case.

According to the Crime Alert: “In each case she presents herself as visibly upset, crying and asking for help.  The story includes a plea that she was in a car accident, is stranded and cannot afford to get home. In other versions she says friends wrecked her car.  She also complains of being quite sick and in need of money to travel to Virginia. She has also claimed to be a GW law student.”

Hay said the woman lives in Stafford, Va.

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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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