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Activists urging Justice Department to check police activity

by Tara Bahrampour

Latino activists are asking the

Justice Department to investigate allegations of police harassment and civil rights abuses in Prince William County, where police are

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KLMNO

FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010

Latinos seek probe of possible rights violations in Pr. William

required to check the immigra- tion status of those arrested in crimes who are suspected of be- ing in the United States illegally. The request for an investiga- tion, being made at a meeting with Justice officials on Thurs- day, comes amid national debate over a similar law passed last month in Arizona. A Department of Justice spokesman confirmed the meeting but said the depart- ment would not comment on it. “Civil rights violations are go-

Get There

6voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere

Many travelers and many

transportation experts offer tips on safe and relatively painless trips during the Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer. It’s striking that they almost always cite this advice: Picking your route is only part of the job. Picking the time you travel is at least as important.

Weather

Showers are in the Capital

Weather Gang’s forecast throughout Friday. Saturday is a transition day, then the forecast looks good for Sunday and Monday.

Picking your window

The heaviest travel times for

Memorial Day weekend traditionally are Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. and most of the day on Monday, with the cookouts, parades and other outdoor activities, according to David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration. If it rains Friday, motorists should expect more substantial delays, but traffic is going to be extremely heavy Friday no matter what, he predicted. Buck offers this advice on timing: He saw that AAA is estimating a 6.4 percent increase in travel this year but noted that such estimates are relative: “Relative to whether it is raining, relative to traveling at 4 p.m. on Friday or 6 a.m. Saturday, relative to if there is a disabled truck on the shoulder or relative to the sun glare.” Generally speaking, the same interstates that are congested every Friday are even more so the Friday before Memorial Day. However, I-97 south toward Annapolis, U.S. 50 east toward the Bay Bridge, MD 404 toward Delaware, I-70 and I-68 toward Deep Creek, and I-95 north toward Delaware take the brunt of the extra traffic. “The best advice is to avoid

traveling during peak holiday travel times if at all possible; have a map (or maps) so if something does happen, you have multiple options; plan ahead using Web sites like www.

roads.maryland.com; stay

patient, as incidents will occur as they do every day of the year; and make driving a full-time responsibility,” Buck said.

Sunday’s Memorial Day events

Rolling Thunder

Streets will be closed along the route beginning at 8 a.m. and will reopen by 4 p.m.

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ROSSYLN

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MYER DR.

50

VIRGINIA

ARLINGTON CEMETERY

Arlington National

Cemetery will be accessible only from southbound G.W. Memorial Parkway or northbound Route 110.

From 8 a.m. to about

4 p.m., Washington Boulevard (Route 27) will be closed from I-395 to the Memorial Bridge.

244

SOURCES: Rolling Thunder, Arlington County Police Department

MARY KATE CANNISTRA/THE WASHINGTON POST

Weekend Metro disruptions

There will be no Metrorail service between the East Falls Church and West Falls Church station during the Memorial Day holiday weekend because of the Dulles Metrorail project. Metro will operate free shuttle buses between the two stations, but riders should add at least 40 minutes to their travel time.

Potomac R.

WEST FALLS CHURCH

VIENNA/ FAIRFAX-

DUNN

VA.

EAST FALLS CHURCH

Orange Line

LORING-

SOURCE: WMATA

Among the online resources,

I’d recommend the Maryland State Highway Administration’s Web page for current traffic conditions. Virginia uses the 511

BALLSTON MERRIFIELD

VA.

ARLINGTON CEMETERY

LARIS KARKLIS/THE WASHINGTON POST

travel information system, which provides updates via phone (511 if calling in Virginia), Web (511virginia.org) and Twitter

ROSSYLN

ROSSYLN

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D.C.

SMITHSONIAN

L’ENFANT PLAZA

L’ENFANT PLAZA

METRO CENTER

METRO CENTER

GALLERY PLACE

GALLERY PLACE

MD. D.C.

FOGGY BOTTOM- GWU

(twitter.com/511northernva).

Planning and patience

If you do the first of those things, you’re more likely to have the second thing. Far too often on holiday weekends, Buck said, drivers are involved in crashes caused by impaired driving, driving while texting or road rage. All can be avoided if motorists make better decisions. A bit of planning and advance car care (such as checking wiper fluid, oil, gas, lights and tire pressure) go a long way toward avoiding extensive delays and major frustration, Buck said.

A complication

The eastbound approach to

the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon could turn into a major mess when the U.S. Naval Academy graduation ends shortly after noon. Thousands of drivers leaving the ceremony will exit onto Route 50 just west of the Severn River Bridge.

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110

1 110

Rolling Thunder starts at noon

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The National Memorial Day concert

will be broadcast from the West Lawn of the Capitol on Sunday at 8 p.m. Full dress rehearsal is Saturday at 8. Gates open to the public for both events at 5.pm.

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Concert street closures

Thursday through 4 a.m. Tuesday. Entry point for concert

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Finish about 1 p.m.

Vietnam Vet. Mem.

Lincoln Mem.

WWII Mem.

Tidal Basin

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Jefferson Mem.

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Most road closures will be rolling, and streets will reopen as the procession moves along the route.

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White House

Ellipse The

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The ride concludes with a ceremony at the Reflecting Pool, near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

(Road closed)

METRO CENTER

Visitors are encouraged to take public transportation to events.

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ing on” in Prince William, said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator for Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, one of the groups meeting with the Jus- tice Department. “People are be- ing stopped and questioned for no apparent reason while walk- ing their dogs. . . . The quality of life for a Latino in the community is different than the quality of life for a white person in the commu- nity.” Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said

Thursday that his department had not seen an increase in com- plaints about civil rights viola- tions since the ordinance was passed in 2007 and amended in 2008 to address concerns about its constitutionality. “We have a very open complaint process, in Spanish and English. People can make all kinds of allegations, but we should look at the facts.” Deane added that although of-

ficers are not required to check the immigration status of people

they detain without arrest, they still have discretion to do so, for example, when investigating a crime. A forthcoming report by

George Mason University, based on in-depth interviews with 60 Spanish-speaking households with immigrants from El Salva- dor, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, found that Latinos feel less comfortable in Prince Wil- liam since the ordinance passed. But an interim report on a study

underway by the University of Virginia found that although La- tinos report feeling less trust in government and lower quality of life since the ordinance, initial fears about racial profiling have not been realized. Citizen satisfaction surveys commissioned by the county found that satisfaction levels of Latinos rose last year after declin- ing in 2008 after the ordinance.

bahrampourt@washpost.com

LOCAL DIGEST

THE DISTRICT

Bad circuit sparked Eastern Market fire

The 2007 fire that gutted the

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STATION

U.S. Capitol

UNION

District’s historic Eastern Market was caused by an electrical fault, according to a final report D.C. Fire/EMS released Thursday. An electrical cause was ruled out early on by federal investiga- tors, but Fire Chief Dennis L. Ru- bin focused on electrical prob- lems as the probable reason for the three-alarm blaze. The 134-year-old market sus- tained $20 million in damage and was closed for three years. According to the report, Rubin

L’ENFANT’ENFANT

directed investigators to take a deeper look at the fire in January 2009 after investigators could not determine a cause. That administrative review in- cluded new evidence that investi- gators had not previously tested — an exterior electrical circuit that supplied power to the trash compactor. When D.C. fire investi- gators ran additional tests on the circuit, it emerged as the fire cul- prit.

—Matt Zapotosky

VIRGINIA

2 dogs poisoned in Centreville

Two dogs died after apparently

ingesting a toxic substance in a Centreville neighborhood Wednesday, and police think their homes may have been targeted by someone who put meatballs con- taining the substance in their yards, authorities said. Fairfax County animal control

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officers were called to the 15100 block of Olddale Road about 5 p.m. Wednesday after receiving reports of two dead dogs from separate homes. Investigators de- termined that the dogs, a 5- month-old pit bull and an adult West Highland terrier, had “in- gested something that resembles a meatball with what we believe at this point to contain some un- identified toxic substance,” said Officer Don Gotthardt, a Fairfax County police spokesman. The two houses where the dogs were killed are across the street from each other, and police think they were “likely targeted,” Got- thardt said. Police said in a news release that they also found meat- balls at a third house. Gotthardt said investigators were exploring whether the dog owners had any disputes with others in the neigh- borhood over their animals. Got- thardt said other dog owners in the area should be vigilant.

—Matt Zapotosky

THE REGION

Metro approves rail car contract

Metro’s board of directors unanimously approved a contract Thursday with Kawasaki Rail Car, for 428 new rail cars, a deal that in coming years will be worth as much as $1.9 billion for hundreds of replacement cars. Three hundred of the new cars, known as the 7000 Series, will re- place the oldest cars in the fleet. The rest will accommodate the 23-Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport. The first 11.7 miles of the line are scheduled to open in late 2013, and the extra service will require 64 new cars for each leg. The price of Thursday’s con-

washingtonpost.com/postpoints

SF 4x5

tract is for $886 million, money that’s expected to come from fed- eral funding and Metro’s capital budget, officials said. All 428 cars are expected to be in service by 2016.

Metro has been under pressure to replace its oldest rail cars, which are more than 30 years old. The striking train in the June 22 Red Line crash that killed nine people belonged to this class and compressed to a third of its origi- nal length.

—Lisa Rein

Wrongfully arrested man is released

A Spotsylvania County man who was arrested last week and accused of trying to abduct a 9- year-old boy was released from jail Thursday and cleared of all charges after Spotsylvania sher- iff’s deputies investigated further and realized that they had charged the wrong man. Carl F. Rice, 51, was arrested and jailed without bond May 17 after the boy told sheriff’s depu- ties that a man driving a pickup had pulled over and offered him a ride. The boy refused and called his mother on a cellphone. Spot- sylvania sheriff’s officials said in a news release that another man who looked similar to Rice did have contact with the boy but that “the interaction was benign . . . and no crime occurred.”

—Tom Jackman

MARYLAND

Truck full of whiskey stuck under bridge

A truck loaded with whiskey became wedged under a CSX rail- road bridge just south of New Market on Thursday, leaking a steady drip of the amber intox- icant onto the Frederick County pavement as crews sought to wrestle the vehicle loose. Sgt. Rob Embly of the Maryland

State Police said CSX crews were working to dislodge the truck. New Market, a town of slightly more than 400, bills itself as the “Antiques Capital of Maryland.” The antiquity of the whiskey was unclear, though it was believed to have been aged. Asked what brand of whiskey

was involved, Embly said: “I wish I knew.”

—Ashley Halsey III

Purple Line foes plan 5K run, rally

Opponents of running Purple Line light rail trains along a popu- lar trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring are planning a 5K race and rally Saturday to show support for the trail. “We support better public

transportation, but we don’t be- lieve that we need to destroy the most popular trail in the area to accomplish this,” said Pam Browning, president of Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail. Her group said the rail line would require cutting 17 acres of trees and would “destroy” the trail’s wooded feel.

Planners for the Maryland

Transit Administration have pro- posed running light rail trains along the trail, which would be re- built and paved adjacent to the tracks but separated by a fence. Planners and supporters of a 16- mile Purple Line have said that the trail is the fastest, most direct route between Bethesda and Sil- ver Spring. The trail route is the most con- troversial part of the state’s plans to build a $1.68 billion east-west Purple Line between Bethesda and New Carrollton. Saturday’s run begins at 9 a.m. in Elm Street Park, 4601 Willow Lane in Chevy Chase, followed by a free walk and bike at 10 a.m.

—Katherine Shaver

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The event is open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. tomorrow, May 29, and includes a Fan Zone with kids games, free clinics, skills challenges, music and entertainment for the whole family.

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