WASHINGTON — Police in the nation’s capital prepared Saturday to set up controversial vehicle checkpoints in a neighborhood reeling from gun violence, and civil liberties groups considering legal action pledged to closely observe the officers.
Police planned to stop motorists traveling through the main thoroughfare of Trinidad — a neighborhood near the National Arboretum in the city’s northeast section. Police will check drivers’ identification and turn away those who don’t have a “legitimate purpose” in the area, such as a church visit or doctor’s appointment.
The checkpoints were announced after eight people were killed in the city last weekend. Most of the killings occurred in the police district that includes Trinidad. Already this year, the district has had 22 killings — one more than in all of last year.
The checkpoints have drawn harsh criticism from civil rights groups.
“Trinidad should not be treated like Baghdad,” said Mark Thompson, the leader of the NAACP’s local police task force.
Thompson was joined by about a dozen activists representing several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, at the intersection where the checkpoints were scheduled to begin Saturday night. They warned of legal action if residents’ Constitutional rights were violated.
“It seems interesting that police are willing to easily cast aside fundamental freedoms for quick-fix, lazy law enforcement tactics,” said Johnny Barnes, executive director of the ACLU for the National Capital Area. “We’re going to do everything to make sure that the rights of citizens are protected.”
Interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles and other city officials have insisted that the checkpoints are a legal and necessary step to stop a spike in violence.
The checkpoints will be enforced at random hours for at least five days, though they could be extended to 10 days, police said. Officers will only search cars if they observe guns or drugs. Pedestrians will not be stopped.
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, said the checkpoints are the latest example of recent police initiatives that he believes threaten residents’ civil rights.
He cited an amnesty program, later scaled back, in which officers planned to go door-to-door asking for permission to search homes for guns. He also pointed to a plan for a large surveillance camera network that he claims lacks adequate privacy rules.
“One has to ask ‘What is going on? What is the thinking?’” he said.
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