People who live along the H Street corridor in Northeast D.C. are looking for solutions as crime continues to worsen in their neighborhood.
D.C. police Capt. Sherrelle Williams told several dozen people who gathered at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night that “we’re all going to come up with solutions.”
For almost two hours, neighborhood residents laid out their issues and proposed solutions.
“We have incidents where we have called for people with medical issues that need assistance and it’s either been they’ve (police) been too busy, or have never shown up,” said Jarrod Bennett, director of operations at the Atlas PAC. He said police are often slow to respond to calls or don’t show up at all.
Bennett also told the police panel at the meeting that he was shot in the neck with a paint ball while out on a run in the neighborhood.
Itay Hertz lives in the neighborhood and said his wife was chased by a man with a bat.
“We need to attack those problems proactively, and not just wait for a response,” said Hertz.
Steve Hessler, who owns five properties on H Street including a wedding venue and an art gallery, and his wife told police that many prospective customers visit their venue, take a look around the neighborhood then leave.
“We’re not ready to leave yet, but oh my God, how much more of this do I have to take?” said Hessler. “We’re dying and we’re about to give up.”
His wife shocked the room when she laid a switch blade knife on the table where the police panel was sitting, telling them she regularly finds them in the courtyard of her business.
Several other business owners spoke about the negative impacts they’ve felt since the shooting last month at the Cru Bar and Lounge that left one man dead and several others injured.
Some of the possible disruptions to crime discussed at the meeting included better proactive crime strategies, quicker police response and more police in the neighborhood.
Harold Odom, who works security for a business in the neighborhood, proposed having porta-potties placed around the area so people experiencing homelessness have a place to use the bathroom instead of urinating in the streets or alleyways.
Another suggestion to address slow police response to issues was that D.C. police officers who work in the First District give their cellphone numbers directly to business owners so they can be contacted directly and not through the city’s 911 system.
All the issues and ideas were charted by a police officer sitting in the meeting, taking notes and video recording the meeting. Capt. Williams told those in attendance that police will follow up on all the issues discussed and the ideas presented.
