WASHINGTON — Despite a rash of violence two weeks ago, D.C.’s police chief said the city has seen its most peaceful summer in a decade.
After Peter Newsham announced on Tuesday that investigators have arrested and charged two men in two separate killings at the end of July, he commented on the “good summer” that D.C. is experiencing.
Detectives made arrests in two cases: Keith Archie, 36, of Northwest is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of 32-year-old Demon Rush of Southeast D.C. on July 29. Meanwhile, Tyrell Moody, 23, of Northeast D.C. is facing second-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jermaine Richards Jr.
While crime does continue, it’s not as frequent in the District as in years past.
“When you compare the last 30 days to the same 30 days last year, we’re at the lowest number of violent crimes we’ve had in the city in 10 years,” Newsham said at a news conference.
According to police statistics, violent crime — which includes homicides, sex abuse, assault and robbery — is down 25 percent from 2016.
Great reductions in crime this summer – still got work to do. pic.twitter.com/W6PeUShU20
— Peter Newsham (@ChiefNewsham) August 7, 2017
It’s hard to say if the cooler, rainier weather this summer played a role, Newsham said.
“If weather is playing a factor, I hope we get a lot of rain for the remainder of the summer,” he said.
