Dear PoPville – Assault on 14th and H Street, NE

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Dear PoPville,

Last Saturday just before 12AM I was walking home as I passed the intersection of H and 14th NE when I was jumped by a group of roughly 10 teenagers in the age range of 14 to 17. One kid sucker punched me in the back of the head while another took a swing at my face and missed. I was able hit that assailant in the face subduing him but it wasn’t enough. At that time the other kids threw me into the side of the bus stop and preceded to kick and punch me repeatedly. Finally a group of women were driving by and yelled when the suspects fled by foot towards Trinidad.

When the police came they tracked the kids down, I was able to identify 2 of the kids that hit me. The detective on the scene knew exactly who the kids were and said they have a history of doing this stuff in the neighborhood.

After I clearly identified 2 of the suspect the detective said he was still unable to charge them with anything other than a curfew violation. His reasoning was that I was unable to provide any other distinguishing characteristics to press charges, such as facial features or specific clothing type. It is virtually impossible when being kicked repeatedly to identify any other feature than race and general clothing. Each one of the assailants was a black teenager wearing black.

Luckily I didn’t sustain any major injuries other than a few bumps and bruises. This is because I was able to tuck and protect by head. If I didn’t know how to protect myself I don’t think I’d be able to write this email right now.

When is this type of unnecessary violence going to stop? Everyday I read this blog and at least once a week I read a similar story about someone who was mugged by a group of random teenagers. Clearly, the mayor and the police chief don’t deem this as a problem that they need to solve or else there would be strict curfew enforcement and prosecution of these types of crimes. When is this going to become a priority? When are the good citizens of this city going to standup and demand that something is done? I’m afraid that some innocent person is going to need to lose their life before anything is done.