Posts Tagged “DPS”

A student living in an apartment on the 1400 block of 36th Street awoke at bout 7:40 a.m. on Friday morning to find that over $5000 worth of items had been stolen from his house, the Department of Public Safety said in a Public Safety Alert.

DPS said that the suspect entered through an unlocked back door near an unlocked back date. The stolen items included a 42″ flat screen TV. The Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene and is investigating the crime.

Following a burglary and attempted burglary that took place early Monday morning and a burglary reported by MPD on a community listserv that took place on Wednesday at 37th & O Streets at about 11:45 a.m., this is the fourth area burglary this week. More than one person was also robbed at knifepoint at the 3100 block of O Street on Thursday night.

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A Public Safety Alert from the Department of Public Safety is reporting that Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., a burglary and a separate attempted burglary took place on the 1200 block of 37th Street, NW.

In the first, the suspect succeeded in gaining entry to a student’s residence.

“[T]he resident stated that he discovered the first floor of his home ransacked,” the PSA reads. “It is unknown if any items were missing.”

In the second, the suspect fled when a student discovered him trying to get into her house. From the same PSA:

“A student reported that she was awakened by an unkown male attempting to gain entry through a rear door. When the student turned on the porch light, the suspect fled the scene through the backyard and out the fence gate.”

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene and is handling both investigations.

The student in the second incident, the attempted burglary, described the suspect as a tall male wearing a white shirt.

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Update 9:08 p.m. March 3: NBC Washington is reporting that the crime at 35th and T Streets resembles crimes perpetrated by the so-called “Georgetown Cuddler”:

“A woman claims a man entered her home at 35th and T streets at about 4 a.m. Sunday, climbed in her bed, sexually assaulted her and fled.”

Update 8:34 p.m.: The Department of Public Safety has sent out a Public Safety Alert about the assault which took place in Burleith. It reads:

“On Sunday, February 28, 2010 between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., a sexual assault occurred inside a residence in the vicinity of 35th & T Streets. The suspect gained entry to the residence by an unknown means.

“DPS became aware of the incident on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The victim is not associated with Georgetown University. The incident is under investigation by MPD and no further details are available at this time.”

The PSA gives the same description of the suspect that Vox listed below.

This weekend saw two sexual assaults in the Georgetown area. One took place at the Georgetown University Hospital or Medical Center, another in a residence in Burleith near campus.

The little information available about the crime in the Georgetown Hospital comes from the Department of Public Safety’s Daily Crime log:

“[At 6:23 a.m.], an unknown male inappropriately touched the victim. Suspect was identified and arrested by MPD.”

The crime is listed twice in the log, and so it is unclear where exactly it occurred. Vox has not gotten responses from either University spokespeople, safety officials, or Metropolitan Police Department officers about additional information about this case, including whether a Public Safety Announcement should have gone out to students.

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Maybe Georgetown students contracted reefer madness this weekend, but from Thursday, February 18, to Saturday, February 20, the Department of Public Safety recorded a shocking number of drug violations on campus in its Daily Crime Log (pdf)—five.

Five is shocking, you say? In fact, for one weekend, it is. A review of crime logs back to February 2009 reveal that most months don’t even see five drug violations at Georgetown. Nine of the last twelve months at Georgetown saw two or fewer drug violations, and only one—October, one of the heaviest months of crime at Georgetown in 2009—saw more drug violations, with a total of six. April had five and November had four.

With four drug violations already on the books for this month before last weekend, February 2010 is officially the month with the most drug violations at Georgetown in over a year. Only one other standalone weekend, October 15-17, comes close.

So what’s with the upswing in violations? Not to toot our own horn, but this increase in drug violations reported by DPS began immediately after the Voice’s cover story about how much more lenient punishment for drug use is here than at George Washington University.

Director of the Public Safety Department has not responded to an inquiry whether there was a cause behind the spike, but the sources who drew our attention to the spike have jokingly blamed us for ruining everything. Sorry guys.

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On Wednesday, February 3, at around 11:45 a.m., three black males confronted a University employee and attempted to rob him. The victim repeatedly refused to comply with demands from the three suspects that he give them anything, and they left him without taking anything.

The Department of Public Safety has put out the following details in a Public Safety Alert:

At approximately 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, February 4, 2010, a University employee reported to DPS that he was the victim of an attempted robbery in the 3300 block of M Street moments earlier. He reported that while walking to his classroom, which is located on the same block, three unknown males were walking towards him. Two of them passed him, then approached him from behind, while the third confronted him from the front. One suspect had his hand inside a black duffle bag. Another suspect demanded the complainant “give it up, old man.”

When the complainant did not comply, the suspect repeated the demand. When the complainant did not comply again, the suspects began walking away, at which time the complainant called DPS. The suspects then ran east towards Wisconsin Avenue. DPS notified MPD and responded to the employee’s office. MPD officers and detectives responded and the investigation was turned over to them.

Paragraphing is Vox’s. The PSA gives the following description of the three suspects: “The suspects are described as three black males. Suspect one: 5′7″, average build, wearing all black. Suspect two: 5′9″, average build, wearing all black. Suspect three: 6′, clean shaven, average build, wearing all black clothing and a hood over his head, carrying a black duffle bag. The hood has a blue stripe on the bottom portion and a yellow stripe on the upper portion.”

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On Sunday, a man who had shoplifted merchandise from the University Bookstore fell off the Leavey Center pedestrian bridge during his attempt to flee the scene. The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon, after the suspect had been confronted for trying to steal from the bookstore, University Spokesperson Andy Pino wrote in an e-mail.

A Department of Public Safety investigator who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Vox that the man was not a student, nor does he have any connection to the University. Pino and Rocco DelMonaco, the vice president for University safety, said that the suspect sustained injuries while trying to escape that needed hospital attention. DPS has turned the case over to the Metropolitan Police Department, which has not responded to requests for comment.

Update: Joseph Smith, the associate director of the Public Safety Department, sent more details in an e-mail: “According to witnesses, the perpetrator had attempted to steal two text books valued at $177 dollars each from the Leavey Book Store. He allegedly fled from the bookstore, dropped a duffel bag containing the books, and jumped over the side of the bridge.”

Based on interviews with four University sources, Vox originally reported that the suspect jumped off the bridge. Eyewitnesses have since told the Voice that the suspect fell attempting to climb down the bridge. The post has been altered to reflect the new information.

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Early in the morning on Sunday, January 17, a female Georgetown junior allegedly assaulted a male student who had just broken up with her with her, injuring his face with a set of keys. The woman was arrested by a Metropolitan Police Department officer who responded to the crime, which took place on the 3700 block of Prospect Street NW. Department of Public Safety officers and a GERMS ambulance also responded to the scene.

The incident report, which classified the crime as an intrafamily dispute, says the assailant also used her hands, feet, and teeth to assault him. Here’s a narrative of the crime from the report, as written by arresting officer F. Rretti:

I received a radio run for an assault in progress at the above location. Upon arrival, I was met with [a DPS officer] who stated that he was patrolling the area of 3700 Prospect Street NW when he heard an argument that was in progress. [The DPS officer] stated that he saw [the assailant] strike [the victim] her boyfriend about the face with a set of keys that were attached to a cloth keychain.

[The victim] suffered a small laceration to the right side of his chin and also a bloody nose. [The victim] stated the incident all was provoked because he wanted to break up with her and end their relationship. [An officer] responded to the scene and took photographs of the injuries and the Georgetown ambulance responded to evaluate the injuries. [The victim and the assailant] both refused to be transported to the hospital.

Neither the suspect nor the victim has responded to requests for comment, but the suspect’s lawyer said that charges against her have been dropped for lack of evidence.

Reporting by Will Sommer.

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The Department of Public Safety reports in a Public Safety Alert that a burglary took place early this morning in Village C West. A female student reported that two unknown males entered her room in Village C, which was unlocked. She screamed when one of them touched her hand and they fled, apparently without doing any other damage or taking anything.

From the Public Safety Alert:

At approximately 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, January 23, 2010, a student reported to DPS that two unknown males entered her unlocked room in Village C West at approximately 2:10 a.m. When one of the suspects touched the complainant’s hand, she screamed in response, and the two suspects fled from the room and headed in an unknown direction. DPS responded to the scene. No suspects were located.

It is unclear whether the student was sleeping or awake when they entered. The student was not harmed and DPS did not locate the two suspects. The suspects are described as two men in their twenties, and there is no further description.

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Calen Angert and his executive office have an ambitious list of goals for what could be their final months in office.

Noting how little time he has left in his term before elections take place in February, Angert told the Voice that his focus will be on solidifying the gains he and others in the executive office had already made. “Our goals will be to really tie up things we began last semester,” Angert said.

Angert said that the executive branch would continue to work on reducing the number of 61D citations issued to students. According to Angert, only three 61D citations were given out last semester. The executive would continue to lower that number, Angert said, by increasing student awareness of the citations and by working with neighborhood groups to resolve the issue of student noise.

Angert and the executive branch are also looking to finally kick off the student-driven Saferides program. “We’ve cleared all the legal hurdles for Saferides, and we’re honestly just waiting on DPS to give us the go ahead,” Angert said.

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“O come let us demand now, O come let us demand now, O come let us demand now that DPS get fair pay!”

That’s something you may have heard sung by members of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee if you happened to be walking through Red Square on Wednesday afternoon. The line—sung, you may have guessed, to the tune of “O Come All Ye Faithful”—is from one of five songs that members of Solidarity wrote to the tune of popular Christmas carols, demanding a wage increase for Department of Public Safety officers.

The group is currently in the middle of a campaign to get the University to agree to a pay raise for Department of Public Safety officers as Georgetown negotiates with the Allied International Union. So far, Solidarity members have written an open letter to President John DeGioia demanding the wage increase and have held at least one rally.

Now, they’re singing.

Several of the songs demonize Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas, like this one, sung to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”:

Spiros, our senior vice president
Had a very pointy schnoz (Like Pinnochio)
Grew every time he spoke of
Supporting the workers’ cause (What a hypocrite!)

All of the other admin
liked what they were being paid (A whole lot!)
They never let DPS officers
Make what they deserve each day (Like a living wage!)

Then one sunny autumn day
The workers had their say: (Rise up!)
“Spiros with your cufflinks bright,
Give us what we’re owed tonight!”

All of the students joined them
And they shouted out with glee: (Solidarity!)
“Spiros, our senior vice president
Don’t be such a bourgeoisie!” (PAY YOUR WORKERS)

Solidarity is known for staging high-profile campaigns for their various social justice causes (such as fasting until Georgetown janitors were given raises and trespassing on military bases during anti-military rallies). But after the jump, you’ll find there’s nothing quite like hearing GSC promise that “Worker power’s comin’ to town.”

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