Pressure from DOJ (or White House), Congress, media, local DC elected officials.
More transparency (prosecution rates by crime category with breakdowns on reasons for declination) is a starting point to focus the discussion where the problems are.
Does the USAO not give a public statement as to why they do not press charges in a specific case? Knowing the specifics (lack of evidence? Procedural error by the officer?) would help us understand if there is any pattern. Absent that, it’s hard not to see these outcomes as the result of a (silent) agenda from the AG.
It’s unlikely that MPD is half as competent as other big city police departments.
I’ve seen a postulate that the USAO’s resources have been taken up by the Jan 6 cases. Is there any credence to that idea? Do they simply not have the capacity to take on misdemeanors in a timely fashion?
They will almost never discuss individual cases. They've cited evidence processing and MPD officer actions violating recent court rulings as the reason for declinations. But both of those issues were supposed to be getting better so they can't explain the drop-off in October-December.
The January 6th prosecutions are supposed to be resourced from a separate pool but we don't have data to confirm that.
It is generally Justice Department policy to avoid commenting on a decision NOT to peruse criminal charges. I can't find the specific citation on this, but was quite famously a departure when James Comey made his statement re: Clinton in 2016.
However, the USAO is supposed to document their decisions not to prosecute and those reasons are "communicated to the investigating agency involved." See the Justice Manual at 9-27.270
Yeah, there's a lot of dispute about how this happens. Some arresting officers will swear up and down that the USAO never gives them feedback while the USAO is adamant that they share this information with MPD. It's possible that there's a break down between the USAO, some liaison at MPD and the actual arresting officers. Or people aren't being completely honest.
Hi Joe - I realize this piece is almost a year old, but I hope you are still reading comments.
There is also the problem of 2-tier justice. I am being prosecuted in Washington, DC Superior Court for a confrontation with illegal subway dancers in the Metro.
I am a DC homeowner, taxpayer, and voter; a US Army combat veteran (Gulf War) and a 27-year law enforcement officer (US Secret Service and DC Inspector General's Office).
I face loss of my job, 6 months in the DC Jail, and fines. It is also possible I may be sued civilly.
And even if you don't care about me, you have to wonder why MTPD and the USAO are devoting so many resources to the case of an aggressive panhandler getting pushed five feet.
Please publicize if you want this topsy-turvy two-tier justice system to get right.
Thank you,
Harold Christy
Here is a link to the full video. Do keep in mind it shows only one perspective:
Also, here is the text of my open letter to the WMATA Board:
Dear WMATA Board:
My name is Harold Christy. I am a US Army combat veteran; a DC homeowner, voter, and taxpayer; and a near-daily Metro rider. I am currently employed as an investigator with the D.C. Office of the Inspector General. Prior to that, I spent twenty-five years with the United States Secret Service.
I am writing because of an incident that occurred on a Green Line train on July 16, 2024. I was traveling home from work and had just boarded the train at Navy Yard. While I was standing by myself, minding my own business in my suit, holding a briefcase and reading a magazine, individuals aboard the train began to play extremely loud and obscene music while dancing and aggressively panhandling in the aisle—all in clear violation of WMATA regulations and D.C. law. Their actions deprived me and the other paying passengers of the peaceful enjoyment of this common conveyance, and restricted our movements, as the dancers' erratic motions effectively occupied the entire space. While these dance crews are a common occurrence on the New York City subway, they have only recently emerged on Metro, possibly because of the 'depolicing' that many DMV jurisdictions have been practicing.
It should be noted that subway dancing for money violates multiple DC criminal statutes, including 22-1321 (disorderly conduct), 22-2302 (a) and (b) (aggressive panhandling), 35-251 (unlawful conduct on public passenger vehicles), 22-2001 (false imprisonment), and 22-404 (assault).
Outraged by this behavior, I demanded that the dancers stop their criminal and dangerous activity. They ignored my objections and continued to dominate the space with their movements and violent music. When the train reached Waterfront, I attempted to push one of the individuals off the train, to stop the unlawful, harmful activity and because I was in apprehension of imminent offensive contact to me and the other passengers in the area. The other dancer grabbed me from behind and violently threw me toward the opposite door. When the door eventually opened, I succeeded in extricating myself from the car.
It should be noted that I never let go of my briefcase, because it contained my official OIG laptop. Therefore, everything I did that day, I did one-handed.
After their violent acts against me, the dancers, as shown in WMATA surveillance video, continued to perform between Waterfront and L'Enfant Plaza, ceasing their performance just before arriving at the latter stop so they could walk the aisles and solicit funds from the passengers who had just watched them throw a grown man off the train.
According to an affidavit by an MTPD detective, these individuals who were engaged in obviously illegal activity then had the audacity to complain to WMATA Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). Officers responded, interviewed at least one dancer and witness, and, even though the dancer admitted to violating the above criminal statutes while relating his version of events, MTPD did not arrest or even ticket the dancer. Rather, MTPD conducted a high-tech investigation, analyzing train-car and station video to determine my movements and pulling Metrocard records to identify me and place an alert in the turnstile system. In other words, they started a 21st-centruy manhunt for a man in a suit with a briefcase. For defending himself and others.
My next commute home from work, paying with my Metrocard again in spite of the packs of idlers who still jump even the new, higher turnstiles, I was met by three MTPD officers who had staked out the Navy Yard station based on my predictable pattern of life (most people with jobs and homes have a predictable pattern of life. This is why it is easier to investigate and prosecute law-abiding citizens than street criminals). They conducted a field interrogation of me, in front of the other commuters, and sent me on my way.
Several weeks later, I was arrested on a warrant for misdemeanor assault and spent a day in leg irons, a belly band, and handcuffs while waiting for my arraignment in Superior Court. For defending myself and others.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is now prosecuting me for this misdemeanor criminal offense. Under DC law, because the maximum sentence is 180 days, I am not even entitled to a jury of my peers, but rather the sterile legal analysis of a judge. For defending myself and others.
It appears that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, WMATA and MTPD are content to see "all the laws but one to go unexecuted." I am glad to see that MTPD seems to be getting away from the days of depolicing. However, selectively prosecuting a paying passenger for reacting to rampant, unsafe, unlawful conduct is the wrong way to start this process. It places your ridership on notice that our role is to pay our fares, sit down and shut up, while the few malefactors among us make the stations and cars a horror show of unlawful and hazardous conduct.
No wonder every lawyer I have spoken to in my Superior Court odyssey has admitted to never riding Metro.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will do something to improve matters.
Copies of this letter are being sent to media outlets, as well as to other DMV-area public officials.
Finally, I have set up a GiveSendGo for my legal fees:
Biden. Interestingly the decrease in prosecution rates (and apparent changes in plea bargaining practices) has been consistent under Obama, Trump and Biden appointees.
The other angle is that Graves definitely could have played the "I inherited this mess and I'm going to fix it" approach and bring DC back to its historical ~73% prosecution rate...it would have been a big accomplishment and something to support his career but there's been no sign of improvement over the last 3 months despite the optimistic rhetoric.
That's definitely what the USAO likes to point to. I'm skeptical that that explains all of the difference given how prosecution volumes clearly tracked the media schedule.
When Chinatown was in focus they were able to prosecute 92% of felonies and 75% of misdemeanors as "viable" cases in their pilot program. But they've never been able to explain why those cases were viable but MPD/courts are somehow terrible in the rest of DC.
So far the fact pattern appears to fit a "prosecutions increase when they are under pressure/scrutiny" rather than any of the structural issues they like to cite.
Really interesting read -- and a very depressing one, as a DC resident.
So how can the USAO be pushed to prosecute more -- at least on par with other US cities?
Pressure from DOJ (or White House), Congress, media, local DC elected officials.
More transparency (prosecution rates by crime category with breakdowns on reasons for declination) is a starting point to focus the discussion where the problems are.
Does the USAO not give a public statement as to why they do not press charges in a specific case? Knowing the specifics (lack of evidence? Procedural error by the officer?) would help us understand if there is any pattern. Absent that, it’s hard not to see these outcomes as the result of a (silent) agenda from the AG.
It’s unlikely that MPD is half as competent as other big city police departments.
I’ve seen a postulate that the USAO’s resources have been taken up by the Jan 6 cases. Is there any credence to that idea? Do they simply not have the capacity to take on misdemeanors in a timely fashion?
They will almost never discuss individual cases. They've cited evidence processing and MPD officer actions violating recent court rulings as the reason for declinations. But both of those issues were supposed to be getting better so they can't explain the drop-off in October-December.
The January 6th prosecutions are supposed to be resourced from a separate pool but we don't have data to confirm that.
It is generally Justice Department policy to avoid commenting on a decision NOT to peruse criminal charges. I can't find the specific citation on this, but was quite famously a departure when James Comey made his statement re: Clinton in 2016.
However, the USAO is supposed to document their decisions not to prosecute and those reasons are "communicated to the investigating agency involved." See the Justice Manual at 9-27.270
(https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-27000-principles-federal-prosecution#9-27.270).
Yeah, there's a lot of dispute about how this happens. Some arresting officers will swear up and down that the USAO never gives them feedback while the USAO is adamant that they share this information with MPD. It's possible that there's a break down between the USAO, some liaison at MPD and the actual arresting officers. Or people aren't being completely honest.
Would be an interesting line of questioning for someone like the DOJ OIG or OPR.
Hi Joe - I realize this piece is almost a year old, but I hope you are still reading comments.
There is also the problem of 2-tier justice. I am being prosecuted in Washington, DC Superior Court for a confrontation with illegal subway dancers in the Metro.
I am a DC homeowner, taxpayer, and voter; a US Army combat veteran (Gulf War) and a 27-year law enforcement officer (US Secret Service and DC Inspector General's Office).
I face loss of my job, 6 months in the DC Jail, and fines. It is also possible I may be sued civilly.
And even if you don't care about me, you have to wonder why MTPD and the USAO are devoting so many resources to the case of an aggressive panhandler getting pushed five feet.
Please publicize if you want this topsy-turvy two-tier justice system to get right.
Thank you,
Harold Christy
Here is a link to the full video. Do keep in mind it shows only one perspective:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ite9a5nmnb2z80td1y6bh/VIDEORECORD_7103_F-MID_2024-07-16_05-30.avi?rlkey=rmzae3pcubrnturto7z885eo2&st=rvte3sdz&dl=0
Also, here is the text of my open letter to the WMATA Board:
Dear WMATA Board:
My name is Harold Christy. I am a US Army combat veteran; a DC homeowner, voter, and taxpayer; and a near-daily Metro rider. I am currently employed as an investigator with the D.C. Office of the Inspector General. Prior to that, I spent twenty-five years with the United States Secret Service.
I am writing because of an incident that occurred on a Green Line train on July 16, 2024. I was traveling home from work and had just boarded the train at Navy Yard. While I was standing by myself, minding my own business in my suit, holding a briefcase and reading a magazine, individuals aboard the train began to play extremely loud and obscene music while dancing and aggressively panhandling in the aisle—all in clear violation of WMATA regulations and D.C. law. Their actions deprived me and the other paying passengers of the peaceful enjoyment of this common conveyance, and restricted our movements, as the dancers' erratic motions effectively occupied the entire space. While these dance crews are a common occurrence on the New York City subway, they have only recently emerged on Metro, possibly because of the 'depolicing' that many DMV jurisdictions have been practicing.
It should be noted that subway dancing for money violates multiple DC criminal statutes, including 22-1321 (disorderly conduct), 22-2302 (a) and (b) (aggressive panhandling), 35-251 (unlawful conduct on public passenger vehicles), 22-2001 (false imprisonment), and 22-404 (assault).
Outraged by this behavior, I demanded that the dancers stop their criminal and dangerous activity. They ignored my objections and continued to dominate the space with their movements and violent music. When the train reached Waterfront, I attempted to push one of the individuals off the train, to stop the unlawful, harmful activity and because I was in apprehension of imminent offensive contact to me and the other passengers in the area. The other dancer grabbed me from behind and violently threw me toward the opposite door. When the door eventually opened, I succeeded in extricating myself from the car.
It should be noted that I never let go of my briefcase, because it contained my official OIG laptop. Therefore, everything I did that day, I did one-handed.
After their violent acts against me, the dancers, as shown in WMATA surveillance video, continued to perform between Waterfront and L'Enfant Plaza, ceasing their performance just before arriving at the latter stop so they could walk the aisles and solicit funds from the passengers who had just watched them throw a grown man off the train.
According to an affidavit by an MTPD detective, these individuals who were engaged in obviously illegal activity then had the audacity to complain to WMATA Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). Officers responded, interviewed at least one dancer and witness, and, even though the dancer admitted to violating the above criminal statutes while relating his version of events, MTPD did not arrest or even ticket the dancer. Rather, MTPD conducted a high-tech investigation, analyzing train-car and station video to determine my movements and pulling Metrocard records to identify me and place an alert in the turnstile system. In other words, they started a 21st-centruy manhunt for a man in a suit with a briefcase. For defending himself and others.
My next commute home from work, paying with my Metrocard again in spite of the packs of idlers who still jump even the new, higher turnstiles, I was met by three MTPD officers who had staked out the Navy Yard station based on my predictable pattern of life (most people with jobs and homes have a predictable pattern of life. This is why it is easier to investigate and prosecute law-abiding citizens than street criminals). They conducted a field interrogation of me, in front of the other commuters, and sent me on my way.
Several weeks later, I was arrested on a warrant for misdemeanor assault and spent a day in leg irons, a belly band, and handcuffs while waiting for my arraignment in Superior Court. For defending myself and others.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is now prosecuting me for this misdemeanor criminal offense. Under DC law, because the maximum sentence is 180 days, I am not even entitled to a jury of my peers, but rather the sterile legal analysis of a judge. For defending myself and others.
It appears that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, WMATA and MTPD are content to see "all the laws but one to go unexecuted." I am glad to see that MTPD seems to be getting away from the days of depolicing. However, selectively prosecuting a paying passenger for reacting to rampant, unsafe, unlawful conduct is the wrong way to start this process. It places your ridership on notice that our role is to pay our fares, sit down and shut up, while the few malefactors among us make the stations and cars a horror show of unlawful and hazardous conduct.
No wonder every lawyer I have spoken to in my Superior Court odyssey has admitted to never riding Metro.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will do something to improve matters.
Copies of this letter are being sent to media outlets, as well as to other DMV-area public officials.
Finally, I have set up a GiveSendGo for my legal fees:
https://www.givesendgo.com/christy
Hello, how big a deal is this announcement from DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-surge-resources-fight-violent-crime-washington-dc
Very good analysis. Thanks for your work. Really important stuff.
Who appointed this prosecutor?
Biden. Interestingly the decrease in prosecution rates (and apparent changes in plea bargaining practices) has been consistent under Obama, Trump and Biden appointees.
The other angle is that Graves definitely could have played the "I inherited this mess and I'm going to fix it" approach and bring DC back to its historical ~73% prosecution rate...it would have been a big accomplishment and something to support his career but there's been no sign of improvement over the last 3 months despite the optimistic rhetoric.
We need a better answer at this point. Is it the courts?
That's definitely what the USAO likes to point to. I'm skeptical that that explains all of the difference given how prosecution volumes clearly tracked the media schedule.
When Chinatown was in focus they were able to prosecute 92% of felonies and 75% of misdemeanors as "viable" cases in their pilot program. But they've never been able to explain why those cases were viable but MPD/courts are somehow terrible in the rest of DC.
So far the fact pattern appears to fit a "prosecutions increase when they are under pressure/scrutiny" rather than any of the structural issues they like to cite.
Fwiw, Matt Yglesias had this example of the appeals court throwing out a gun conviction https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1747609520002441304?s=46&t=qC6-GNlT9sq-Cv93tFO-Dw