Now that the federal law enforcement surge in D.C. has come to an end, many don’t believe there will be a sudden disappearance of police and National Guard. However, one Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner said he’s heard of fewer interactions with residents.
“It’s not fully over, but I think there is a decrease in the number of instances I’m hearing about,” said Jeremy Sherman, who represents ANC single-member district 1A04 in Columbia Heights.
But he added, “There are neighbors who are still afraid and scared and so I think this is a rebuilding time.”
Sherman’s colleague in 1A06, Anthony Thomas-Davis, agreed there were lessons learned during the surge.
“I think the surge exposed some gaps in our system that require some level of attention,” Thomas-Davis said. “That was largely around public safety and how our officers are deployed in certain manners across the neighborhoods … and largely how our public spaces are being maintained to either discourage crime or to incentivize public space activation in a way that may also deter crime.”
Thomas-Davis said while D.C. residents, for the most part, did not want the law enforcement surge, as evidenced by the massive protests held over the past month, he does think lessons can be taken from it.
“I hope as we pivot from the emergency, a lot of residents come together to push District government to address these issues,” Thomas-Davis said, adding that it was his hope D.C. can continue to develop in a way that would not give the Trump administration “an excuse” to impose another emergency.
“We want to see MPD get back to community policing and not infringing upon neighbors’ rights and building positive relationships,” Sherman said. “On the positive side, a lot of neighbors have come together. … There are a lot of WhatsApp and Signal groups that have formed over the past month, and those continue to be places for neighbors to connect and support each other.”
Sherman and Thomas-Davis represent areas in Columbia Heights with a large Hispanic population and the location of several interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They said they expect some of those interactions to continue.
Sherman said he is hoping the city will come together now and support their neighbors and local businesses.
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