Fenty interfered in standoff with gunman, records show
By: Bill Myers
Examiner Staff Writer
July 2, 2009
An investigation of the District’s top police union official grew out of a dispute in which police officers who coaxed a gunman out of a barricaded home accused Mayor Adrian Fenty and Police Chief Cathy Lanier of improperly meddling in the negotiations, according to police records.
Union Chairman Kris Baumann filed a federal lawsuit this week, accusing Lanier of illegally targeting him in an investigation of rank-and-file complaints stemming from a May 30 standoff with Terrence Moore. The internal investigation commenced after The Examiner made inquiries into whether members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Emergency Response Team were ordered to lob tear gas into the home where Moore had holed up, sources said.
Moore fled narcotics officers, and allegedly kicked in the door of a nearby home and opened fire on the police. He was shot four times in the initial gun battle and barricaded himself in the home. According to internal police reports, officers refused to lob tear gas because they were afraid of panicking Moore and provoking another round of gunfire. They were told that the mayor — through Lanier — had “pressured” them to do so, records show.
According to one police memo, the front-line officers were told that “the mayor called the chief and told her to end this situation asap.”
Fenty’s attorney general, Peter Nickles, did not respond to requests for comment.
Lanier dismissed charges that Fenty played a role in the negotiations. “It is utterly ridiculous to suggest that the Mayor would interfere in a law enforcement operation. I do not know who would make such an absurd accusation,” she said.
D.C. police regulations discourage even the chief from interfering with police standoffs.
“ERT personnel are specifically trained to handle these types of situations and interference by anyone other than an ERT official should always be avoided,” general order 309.1 states.
Internal police records show front-line officers desperately working against their commanders to resolve the standoff peacefully.
Officers were worried that tear gas would panic Moore, forcing him to come out, guns blazing. According to police records, the following exchange took place between Lt. Scott Dignan and a rank-and-file officer on the scene:
Dignan: “Be advised, I’m being ordered to give you the go to deploy gas.”
Officer: “...please stand by for just five more minutes...”
Dignan: “...I’m getting issues down here ...I’m getting pressured.”
Dignan would later tell his officers that the order originated from Fenty, according to three separate internal police records.
Records also show that Lanier stepped into Moore’s firing range during the standoff.
“Also, can you advise ERT 1 and 2 — the commander and the chief — they’re in a bad situation,” an officer told Dignan. “So if anything happens, they’re in the line of fire.”
Moore eventually surrendered without further incident.
A judge has temporarily ordered the police department to halt its investigation of Baumann while the case is pending.
bmyers@washingtonexaminer.com
