Rufina Hernandez was a sweet shopkeeper, well-loved by her neighbors in D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood. They came in all colors and sizes and ages Monday night to walk with candles and mourn her murder last weekend.
Thieves with guns came into her liquor store, La Casa de Morata. They demanded cash. She handed it over. They shot her anyway.
One sign read: “Mama, your neighbors and customers will miss you.”
Mama’s neighbors were sad, but they were not surprised. Petworth and other neighborhoods smack in the middle of Washington, D.C., are suffering from a rash of shootings and violent confrontations that have confounded cops and worried residents. According to police logs and local blogs, gunfire and carjackings and armed robberies are on the rise from Dupont Circle east to Logan Circle and from Columbia Heights north to Petworth.
In the 2nd Police District, which includes Georgetown, assaults with a dangerous weapon, excluding guns, went up 143 percent this October compared to 2008.
“What we expected in the summer as far as more violent crime has been overwhelming some of our neighborhoods the past month,” says Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser. Hernandez’ shop on Georgia Avenue is in the heart of her ward.
The Prince of Petworth blog is jammed with crime coverage; Oct. 24 was a hot night:
“On top of yesterday and this morning’s shootings,” the chief blogger wrote, “I’ve just received word that there was a shooting on the 1300 block of Euclid Street, NW, at 6:19 pm Saturday night.”
Third Police District Commander George Kucik explained in a posting that a woman had been shot in the leg. “There is no known motive at this time,” he wrote.
Bowser then put this out to her community: “Neighbors — MPD is on the scene in 800 Block of Upsher St. NW investigating a police pursuit and officer involved shooting. Expect heavy police presence and road closures.”
Take note of the “officer involved shooting” phrase. In addition to more crime, Bowser says cops are seeing more brazen criminals. “In the past,” she says, “people wouldn’t confront the police. Now they are shooting at them.”
To defend themselves, police who find themselves in the line of fire are shooting back. The result is an increase in police shootings in pure self-defense.
“We need some arrests,” Bowser tells me. “We need to be taking some of these criminals off the streets. We need consequences.”
But the consequences of the city council’s actions might make the streets even less safe. Last year the city council ordered the police to bring its force up to 4,200. Last month the same council approved a hiring freeze — at 4,060 cops. With no hiring and normal attrition of 20 officers a month, the force will drop below 3,800 by next year.
“At that number, we cannot to do our job,” says Kristopher Baumann, police union president. “Officers will be racing from radio call to radio call. Everyone will be less safe.”
And we can expect more candlelight vigils.
E-mail Harry Jaffe at [email protected].
