District taxpayers have eaten hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime costs for police protection provided to local parades and events, The Washington Examiner has learned.

Since September 2008, city officials have granted fee waivers to organizers of a dozen neighborhood parties, from the Oyster Adams 5K race to the Cherry Blossom parade. It has cost taxpayers more than $600,000 in police overtime that would otherwise have been paid by event organizers, sources told The Examiner.