Last night, the Kleiner and the Kleinette attended a special Ward 4 community meeting at the MPDC Northern Regional Operation Command center hosted by Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser held in response to a spate of recent shootings, and centered around a question-and-answer session with MPDC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier. Let us begin by saying that the most remarkable fact of the meeting was probably its very occurrence; that the police and the politicians responsible for the safety of the area would feel it necessary to hold such a meeting in response to violence that, as recently as a few years ago, would probably have been considered par for the course in the neighborhood in question. This demonstrates both increased civic engagement on the part of the neighborhood's residents and increased responsiveness to public opinion and welfare on the part of the responsible insitutions. In the face of the saddening violence in our community, these kinds of meetings are positive for the future of Washington, D.C.
Brief remarks from Councilwoman Bowser commenced the meeting that began roughly on time and was attended by roughly 75 citizens representing a diverse cross-section of gender, race, and age. In attendance beyond Bowser and Chief Lanier were Lt. Michael Farish of Homicide, several ANC Members, representatives of Metro Police, the Ward 4 Safety Advisory Council, and the entire 4D Command Staff. Also present were multiple reporters taking notes and two television cameras, one handheld and one mounted. The cameraman operating the tripod-mounted camera said his footage would be distributed to Channels 4, 5, and 9.
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