10:30am L’Enfant Plaza Metro “There looked to be 4-6 teen boys jumping a teen girl. An older gentlemen jumped in to protect her and then the teens jumped him.”

“Dear PoPville,

Fight on Greenline 5/22 10:30AM

I was traveling on the Green Ling towards Branch Ave. At L’Enfant Plaza stop there was a lot of screaming and yelling. There looked to be 4-6 teen boys jumping a teen girl. An older gentlemen jumped in to protect her and then the teens jumped him. He was down on the floor being kicked and punched, with bystanders calling for police, trying to get the kids off, etc. I was trying to record for a police report and one of the teens pushed me and in the scuffle ended up hitting me in the cheek/chin.

I ended up boarding the train with the girl and the man, still with no response from police. I called 911 (having had poor experiences with WMATA police in the past) but they explained since it happened on Metro it had to be taken care of through them–she then routed me to their dispatch who was beyond rude, explained to me that this had already been called in several times and there was a procedure to be followed. When I pressed about how I could submit photos/video and file my own police report since I was hit she told me that was not an option and hung up.

I have a lot of frustrations and opinions on this, and yes, part of this is living in an urban city but damnit if this isn’t exhausting. I’m thankful that gentlemen stepped in, and I hope that girl is OK (she did not want help and while I have her photo in case I could get in touch with police, I am not submitting for her privacy). I just really am at a loss as to what we do when police don’t respond–what actions should be taken, and how do we get our officials to act in more concrete, solution-focused ways.“