WASHINGTON — Police are still investigating the shooting of a Housing Authority Police officer in Southeast D.C. early Thursday morning. The shooting happened around 6 a.m. in the Navy Yard area, after an officer attempted to arrest someone who refused to leave outside an apartment building. The officer was shot in the abdomen, and there were multiple exchanges of gunfire before two people were brought into custody.
As we work to learn more about the officer, as well as those arrested, we're looking into what a Housing Authority Police officer is, and the powers they have.
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is a government agency that provides affordable housing to extremely low- through moderate-income households.
According to the DC Housing Authority's website, the police department was first established in 1995. The current chief and director of public safety is Michael Reese.
The purpose of the department is to "increase security for residents of public housing through a grassroots approach to community policing."
The DCHAPD is a fully operational 24-hour police force which covers fixed security stations and conducts police patrols throughout the city’s public housing developments. The DCHAPD is staffed with sworn police officers who have concurrent jurisdiction with the Metropolitan Police Department throughout the District of Columbia. The department's officers have full arrest powers DCHA properties.
"The DCHAPD recognizes the challenges inherent in ensuring community safety for residents of public housing and the extended communities in which residents live. The DCHAPD works in partnership with DCHA residents, the larger community, and the Metropolitan Police Department to meet this challenge," the department says on its website.
This is not the first time a member of the police department has been shot. Last year, a sergeant with the DCHAPD was shot by a driver while on his way to work.
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