Local
Local news in brief: Oct. 29
P Street Beach raided; police seek aid in unsolved murder
Men stopped, detained in P St. Beach raid
About a half dozen D.C. and U.S. Park Police officers swooped into the woods in P Street Beach about 3:20 a.m. on Oct. 10 and stopped but did not arrest several men they observed loitering in the well-known gay male cruising spot, according to a police official and an eyewitness.
The witness, a gay man who spoke on condition that he remain anonymous, said he and between a half dozen to a dozen men were cruising in a wooded area of P Street Beach park along a slope hidden from the street and sidewalk next to tennis courts along 23rd St., N.W., near P Street.
“One or two D.C. police cars came down the gully, blocked off one side and left their spotlight on” pointing into the woods, the witness said. The witness said he saw a Park Police car pull up along the tennis courts, with officers emerging and running down the slope shouting for the men to “stop.”
“I started running and so did the guy I was with,” said the witness. But the witness said more officers arrived from the other side of the park, heading toward where he was running. In what he described as a surreal scene out of a movie, he said he managed to escape after lying motionless behind a log in the underbrush in the park for nearly an hour.
“I lay there with my head down and just waited,” he said. “I assumed most of the other guys got caught, but I don’t know for sure … And they kept coming back,” he said of the police officers. “They were shining their lights and I heard them say, ‘Come out wherever you are.’”
Assistant D.C. Police Chief Diane Groomes said a Park Police contact and the watch commander of the D.C. police department’s Second District told her the officers participating in the police action did not make any arrests. Instead, Grooms said, they “stopped some subjects.” She said she was awaiting further details from both D.C. and Park Police.
Park Police officials have said in the past that they routinely take the names and other information from people they stop in P Street Beach at night, when the park is closed to the public and people entering are considered trespassers. According to Park Police officials, the officers issue warnings to the people they stop in the park at night, telling them they could be subject to arrest for trespassing if they are caught there a second time.
Grooms said D.C. police have recently received several complaints from parents of students attending Frances Junior High School, which is located next to P Street Beach, and from school officials about “illegal activity” in the park. She said the people making the complaints pointed to disposed condoms and trash in the area where people were said to be loitering in and around the park.
P Street Beach is a section of Rock Creek Park near Dupont Circle that runs along the banks of Rock Creek. Like all of Rock Creek Park, it is maintained by the U.S. Park Service and patrolled mostly by U.S. Park Police.
Fla. sheriff seeks help from gays in murder of Va. businessman
Anyone with information concerning the murder of Samuel DelBrocco, is asked to contact BSO Homicide Detectives Tim Duggan or Efrain Torres at 954-765-4321. Or call Crimestoppers at 954-493-8477.
The Broward County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office last week asked a gay newspaper in Fort Lauderdale to publish information about the Sept. 11 murder of an Alexandria business executive, who was found dead in his vacation home in Pompano Beach.
Samuel DelBrocco, 61, chief executive officer of Alexandria-based PCI Communications, a public relations and corporate communications firm, was last seen alive by friends at a Fort Lauderdale restaurant a day or two before police discovered his body in his posh, waterfront home in Pompano Beach, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Norman Kent, editor and publisher of South Florida Gay News, said sheriff’s officers hand-delivered to his office a flier about DelBrocco’s murder, which includes DelBrocco’s photo, and urged him to publish the information.
Sheriff’s Office Det. Efrain Torres told the Blade that investigators don’t know whether DelBrocco had ties to the gay community.
“We want as much exposure as possible,” he said. “We’re reaching out to all media.”
Anyone with information about the murder should contact the Broward Sheriff’s homicide squad at 954-765-4321 or the Broward Crime stoppers hotline at 954-493-8477.
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
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Congratulations to Peter Schott on being honored by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on National Honor our LGBTQ Elders Day.
Schott is a prominent LGBTQ advocate and seasoned political strategist who has spent decades advancing civil rights at the national and state levels. Following a distinguished 25-year career as a staff assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, Schott leveraged his extensive legislative expertise to help organize the National Stonewall Democrats, serving as an influential member of its national board.
After moving to Delaware in 2002, he became a foundational figure in the state’s LGBTQ political landscape, co-founding the Delaware Stonewall PAC, (now Stonewall Delaware) to champion the election of pro-equality candidates. His strategic lobbying and community organizing were instrumental in the successful passage of Delaware’s landmark non-discrimination, civil union, and marriage equality laws. A former member of the State Human Relations Commission, he remains a vital voice for the LGBTQ community in the Mid-Atlantic, continuing to document and drive social progress through his activism and writing. Schott currently serves as vice chair of the Delaware Democratic Pride Caucus, and a board member of Speak Out Against Hate (SOAH). He was a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, New York University; and a master’s of Public Administration degree from American University.
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