Barring Notices At Center Of Controversy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA)--Outrage and exasperation have emerged over the alleged treatment of young African-American men in our area.
Dozens have received "barring notices" from the DC Housing Authority Police and Metropolitan Police officers, forbidding them to visit local housing projects.
A spokeswoman for the DC Housing Authority says people are barred for engaging in any activity that threatens the health, safety or peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents. But some of the men insist they're being barred simply for the way they look.
"I don't even have a jaywalking ticket. They can't even tell me why they slammed me on the ground, turning my pockets inside and out. Put their foot on my neck and laughing about it. Saying something to his partner about he's going to jail tonight," said Isaiah Green, a 21 year-old.
Green received one of the 67 "bar notices" issued so far this year at Woodland Terrace.
"Enough is enough. We are human beings. We're not animals. We don't deserve to go in cages. I have no record. I have never been convicted of any crime," said Trayon White.
White was also arrested at Woodland Terrace. The Board of Education member was told he was not authorized to be on the property.
"And I was trying to figure out, 'How can I be unauthorized to be on the property when I have an office and a contract with DC Housing Authority to serve on the property?'"
After a public outcry, the charges were dismissed, but White says his name is still in the DC court system.
"He's branded for life and he did nothing. He has a Master's degree. He's a public servant. Duly elected. And they told him they can't go certain places in the city," said Johnny Barnes, a D.C. attorney.
Barnes has assembled a team of D.C. lawyers to represent each of the young men he believes were unjustly arrested and in some cases, prosecuted.
"There's not even the suspicion of criminal activity. They just bar them because they say we don't want you there," said Barnes.
"I'm outraged,"said Gary Lover, who acknowledges he made mistakes as a teenager. Today he's 30, a college graduate who says he returned to Lincoln Heights to be a role model.
"I understand there's drugs in the neighborhood, but just because I look a certain way, that doesn't mean I'm committing those crimes," said Lover.
The lawyers working these cases have filed a Freedom of Information Act request for citywide data, since they believe the problem extends beyond the two housing projects.
Written by Andrea McCarren
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