Nov. 28, 2001: Two officers with the Georgetown University Depart-ment of Public Safety issued citations today to students who were riding their bikes near the Reiss Science building. Students who did not get off their bikes and walk were stopped and lectured.
A few nights ago, the department dispatcher refused, despite numerous robberies and assaults in the area, to send an officer to the intersection of 37th and R street in Burlieth to respond to a report of suspicious person following women. The officer said that DPS would not patrol off campus because that was the domain of D.C. police. A lieutenant with the Metropolitan Police Department said DPS’s response was “irresponsible” and that they could patrol the area if they desired.
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Jan. 15, 2003: DPS released a statement today announcing the 14th robbery of a Georgetown student in Burlieth since the first of the year. The statement urged students to walk home with their wallets out and their credit cards easily visible. If students see anyone unfamiliar, they are advised to place their wallets, money, cell phones and other valuables on the corner, cover their eyes and back slowly away while repeating, “Please don’t hurt me.”
In a related note, DPS announced it would be placing six more officers on full-time “bike ticket duty.”
“Bicycle-Pedestrian safety is our number one priority,” DPS Director Mark Filmore said. “Once we deal with the safety of our pedestrians we can then address the other problems facing our community.”
Nearly half of the DPS force quit in response.
“Let them quit,” Filmore said. “We can replace them with others who don’t mind spending their time standing in front of Leavey writing citations when they could be patrolling the neighborhood. Bicycle-Pedestrian safety is our number-one priority.”
One of the first steps Filmore plans to enact will be stationing a DPS officer at each bike rack to ensure that cyclists walk their bikes at all times. He warned that cyclists who fail to walk may be shot.
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November 12, 2009: A student was arrested yesterday and sent to the Darnall detention center for breaking the new Peace and Protection Policy. The student is accused of violating the most important part of the policy, which forbids students to walk off campus alone.
James Grish, associate dean of students, said the student would likely be given the maximum sentence for walking unaccompanied. The sentence dictates that he will have his wallet and backpack confiscated and then he will be beaten by Pedestrian Protection officers and left on the side of the road.
The public event will take place Wednesday at 3:00 pm. Students are encouraged to attend.
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March 4, 2014: Five cyclists were burned at the stake this morning for their role in the deaths of 39 Georgetown students.
“May these burning flames carry the souls of these cyclists to hell,” Peace and Protection Director Laurie Thames said. “Today we mark a victory for pedestrians everywhere.”
The 39 Georgetown students were killed when a Safe-Rides van they were riding in was hijacked by four men in a black jeep. The men ordered the students to exit the vehicle and turn over their money. When overcrowding in the van prevented a quick exit by the students, the four men riddled the van with bullets.
“The van wouldn’t have been so full except that we were in a hurry and tired of waiting three or four hours for a ride to class,” Melanie McMahon, a survivor of the disaster said.
A battalion of Pedestrian Protection officers watched the four men collect the wallets of their victims from 38th Street and Reservoir Road, but their intense lookout for cyclists prevented them from coming to the assistance of the students.
“If those damn cyclists would just walk to work like everyone else, those students would be alive today,” Thames said choking back tears. “Instead, our officers are forced to spend their time protecting pedestrians.”
She then raised her fists toward the sky and screamed “Why God? Why?”
