If you needed an officer in downtown D.C. Friday evening between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m. — say you got mugged or hit by a car or wanted to report an imminent terrorist attack — you were probably out of luck.
But if you happened to be walking down 19th Street, between Dupont Circle and M Street, you would have seen a sea of blue. A detachment of the Metropolitan Police Department‘s finest had been detailed to protect Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynn.
Was it a crucial meeting to share state secrets with a member of Congress? A semisecret session with an Iranian diplomat about nuclear weapons? An important speech about national security?
None of the above: The veep and second lady were attending a book party for daughter, Mary Cheney. At the Palm Restaurant. During rush hour. At the start of the weekend. Roads clogged and streets jammed.
As part of my man-about-town duties, I was invited to the party. Well, let’s say I was not on the “list,” but I talked my way in. Plenty of usual suspects: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, New York gossip columnist Lloyd Grove, Republican advisor Mary Matalin, a gaggle of journalists.
“It was low-key on bold face names,” says publicist Janet Donovan, “but if you have the vice president, you don’t need anyone else.”
But you do need lots of security. The Cheneys came in the backdoor.
Leaving the party, I counted 10 MPD scout cars; five Harley Davidsons with D.C. police; a few Secret Service cars; and many tightlipped men in black suits.
The D.C. police were lounging in the early evening sun, taking in the breeze and the passing girls.
“Not bad work,” I said to one cop leaning on his car.
“We get paid every Friday,” he said.
Yeah, by me and other District residents, who have policing needs beyond watching the Veep’s back so he can help his daughter hawk her political memoir.
The city calculates the cost of an officer at $41 an hour, not counting overtime; a car costs $12 an hour. Protecting the vice president for two hours costs more than $3,000. In the grand scheme of things, this may not break the budget. But does it make sense for the residents of the District to pay for protecting the vice president’s visit to eat a few crab cakes at his daughter’s book party?
“Absolutely not,” says Council Member Kathy Patterson. “There has never been the political will to negotiate a reasonable amount or size of details for motorcades.”
Patterson, who chaired the Judiciary Committee and is running for council chair, adds: “The cops love it. It’s easy duty, and there’s always food involved.”
Fine, but if you are going to rent D.C. police, you should pay for them. The bill should go to the Cheneys or to Mary Cheneys publisher, Simon & Schuster.
The city doesn’t need to pay for promoting her book.
Harry Jaffe has been covering the Washington area since 1985. E-mail him at [email protected]
