Whatever the case, we’re hearing a broken record when it comes to too many to hate crimes reported by MPD initial responders (non-GLLU/SLD, i.e.).

It is a measure of MPD’s ongoing failure that third party acquaintances or relatives of victims are having to come the rescue of violent hate crimes victims who didn’t have the presence of mind– as is usually the case after one is beaten senseless– to demand better police work from their first MPD responders.

Not intending any slight to David Perez or GLLU’s veteran and very excellent Officer Joe Morquecho, but it appears MPD initial responders should have called GLLU/ LLU to the scene right away.

Once again, IMO, we see *institutional bias* being reflected in MPD’s negligent initial (911/OUC) response to this hate crime victim. These MPD initial responders apparently failed to ask this seriously injured victim the most elementary questions to determine a motive…

“Did your attackers use offensive language? And if so, what specifically?”

“Why did they do it? Do you think it was a hate crime?”

Those very basic questions likely would have elicited the victim’s memory of the unmistakable homophobic and ethnic hate slurs directed at the victim during this hate crime assault.

It matters not, in their often injured and dazed conditions, that hate crimes victims did not initially “volunteer” such information to responding MPD officers. It is MPD’s duty to do the most elementary police detection work for the FIRST report.

That’s why MPD’s Bias Checkoff requirement exists on their 251 incident report form, for pete sakes!

Then, as soon as the 911 responding officers had any indication at all that this had a suspected bias motive(s), MPD’s excellent SLD/ GLLU/ LLU team –SPECIALIALIZED MPD officers, with broad experience and trained specifically to promptly respond to such incidents– should have been alerted by the initial MPD responders to respond to the scene as well.

MPD responding officers, their PSA lieutenants and their district commanders appear to be routinely ignoring DC’s hate crimes law (Bias-Related Crimes Act). Chief Lanier is the ultimate responsible MPD official, however. Lanier’s credibility on this issue continues to crumble as we again see these MPD district and PSA command failures.

As a side note…
It would be helpful, just as relevant civic information to know, if crime reporters also report in which specific MPD District number (there are 7 in DC) and PSA (Patrol Service Area) number such failed initial MPD responses occurred. That way District MPD commanders and their PSA lieutenants can be held accountable, too, by the local LGBT residents and businesses they are suppose to be serving and protecting.

As an FYI… each MPD district usually holds monthly CAC (Citizens’ Advisory Council) meetings where these police failures can be raised by local residents and stakeholders. Also, specific command officer contact information can be found at MPD’s website under each of the 7 “District Rosters” and CAC meeting information can often be found on each respective MPD District community listserv.

We should take note again… this problem is not new. GLOV and other LGBT public safety activists have REPEATEDLY complained of Chief Lanier’s foot-dragging in PROMPTLY implementing force-wide training of every MPD officer in dealing with LGBT and other minority victims of hate crimes.

Last summer, CM David Catania wisely suggested mandatory ‘webinar’ officer hate crimes training– hopefully, with a pass/fail quiz to assure everyone ‘gets’ it– be included with the web-based training MPD officers are already required to take. This would accomplish the task pretty quickly.

This is another incident which highlights MPD’s lack of credibility on this long-standing MPD rank-and-file training failure.

I’ll say it again… do NOT blame the rank-and-file MPD officers or SLD/GLLU/LLU. This is, without question, a MPD command level(s) and leadership failure. Why doesn’t Chief Lanier stop dragging her feet and just fix it?

Do we need yet another Council Judiciary Committee hearing– only to hear the same denials and excuses from MPD’s chiefs as we’ve heard in the past?