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Weekend Roundup: Class Act – Washington City Paper

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Welcome to Monday, D.C. Summer is all but officially over as most students in the District, Maryland, and Virginia return to the classroom today for the first day of school. The president and first lady made an appearance at D.C.’s Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast to mark the occasion. Here’s the news you might have missed if you were celebrating the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Are the Kids All Good?

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee says this year is “still a year of recovery, academically, for students.” In an interview with NBC Washington, Ferebee also encouraged parents to monitor social media for signs of potential violence and noted a new slogan that will hang in school hallways this year: “Are you good?” aimed at promoting mental and behavioral health counseling.

But many teachers across the DMV area, and throughout the country, are returning to classrooms in fear for their safety. Educators are reporting an increase in outbursts and violence among students and directed at staff. The Washington Post reported over the weekend about a teacher who left a Maryland school where he had been punched in the face while trying to break up a fight and, on another occasion, was called an anti-gay slur. Another DCPS teacher who spoke with the Post said they had been attacked by a student’s aunt; another had been stabbed by a student.

Three Teens Killed

A 16-year-old girl was one of three teenagers killed in separate incidents in D.C. over the weekend. Police believe the stabbing happened around 2 a.m. Sunday at a McDonald’s on 14th Street NW. The victim, Naima Liggon, was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced earlier this month that the District would start enforcing a curfew for kids 16 and younger in some parts of the District, but that action doesn’t start until Sept. 1. Yesterday, police arrested another 16-year-old girl, who was charged with second-degree murder while armed.

On Friday evening, in separate incidents, Jaqiah Johnson, 18, was shot in the 2000 block of Naylor Road SE, and Keni Edwards, also 18, was shot and killed in the 2000 block of 10th Street NW, according to police.

Bad Apples?

A retired D.C. police lieutenant was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for an accidental fatal shooting during a training exercise in August 2022. Jesse Porter, who retired from the Metropolitan Police Department and started his own training and consulting company, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June for the death of 25-year-old Maurica Manyan. Porter had been leading a training for library police officers on Aug. 4, 2022, at the Anacostia Library. The group paused to take a photo, and trainees were “joking around” when Porter, thinking he was holding his training gun, fired at Manyan, killing her. Manyan’s family called for a harsher sentence during the hearing Friday and told the judge she had just purchased her first home, and left behind a young son, who is starting kindergarten this year.

“Your anger is understandable, but as a judge, I can’t sentence out of anger,” Judge Anthony Epstein said in court. “I think a three-year sentence imposes substantial punishment proportionate to the crime and … I think it is the punishment appropriate for what the evidence shows was a tragic mistake.”

In a separate case, D.C. Police Officer Roberto Adams was convicted Friday of wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program. Adams claimed he was running a janitorial business called SuperKlean, but prosecutors told the jury the company had no employees, no clients, and no income. All told, Adams is said to have defrauded the program out of at least $18,350. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. said he spent the money at casinos in Maryland and hotels in Las Vegas, as well as on airfare and expensive sneakers. They said Adams also used $12,110 to settle past due rent on his home. Adams’ sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8; he faces a maximum of 40 years in prison for his crimes. Adams joined the department in 2015 and patrolled in the Fifth District. D.C. Police say he has been on unpaid administrative leave since Sept. 2021, due to the federal investigation.

Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com)



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