hey there,

i just sent this to the police chief. figured i'd paste it here as well.

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Dear police chief,

i own a small business in Adams Morgan called SMASH!. At 9pm on the evening of Friday, August 10th, i had an incident with 5 or 6 African American teenage boys who shoplifted some shoes and accessories from my shop. i followed the shoplifters out into the adjacent alley. I had the option to apprehend one of the suspects myself when i noticed the multitude of police officers on 18th st. This was also the night that heavy police presence was in the neighborhood due to the recent rash of shootings/crime. I flagged down a cruiser and told them what had just transpired. the thieves were still within sight. The two officers - a bit to my amazement - didn't seem particulary enthused about helping me, but did go out of their way to check the alleyway in their car. i told them i worked at Smash assuming i'd hear a follow-up. 30 minutes went by and i heard nothing. i called to file a report and when i talked to the responding officer, he asked me which cruiser i had originally talked to. there were like 5 or 6 cop cars on 18th st and at the time i didn't think to note which officers i talked to. (it was an african-american male and african-american female). I still feel pretty steamed about the police's response to this situation, especially since Adams Morgan was teeming with cops. The fact that they didn't even have the decency to stop by my shop and let me know if the suspects got away or not is particularly infuriating. The police's inaction makes me feel that i would have been better off attempting to catch the criminals on my own. i feel like the police are just there for show and not actually preventing or discouraging crime.

that's my 2 cents
Matt Moffatt/SMASH!