June 15, 2022 – Montgomery County, MD
Press Contact: Carlean Ponder; Ph: 202-508-1076
On Friday, June 10, 2022, 21-year old Howard University Senior DeSean Smith was assaulted by Washington Metro Transit Police as part of a failed fare evasion confrontation. Mr. Smith was thrown to the ground, a knee was placed on his back, he was handcuffed, and searched. This rapid escalation of violence in what should have been a simple conversation about payment of transit fare is shocking.
Passersby were alarmed by the treatment of Mr. Smith and several stopped to offer support as, bizarrely, an additional 6 or 7 squad cars surrounded the station. Mr. Smith managed to say his father’s phone number out loud, and a witness was able to contact him about the violent arrest of his son. “I can’t believe the inability of those police officers to de-escalate this situation,” said Kevin Smith, DeSean’s father. “Was all of this harsh treatment and legal entanglement necessary for a suspected crime involving less than $5?”
The police behavior was clearly excessive, as was using taxpayer resources to book Mr. Smith at the Montgomery County jail and initiating a court process. During the booking process, Mr. Smith observed one of the arresting officers taking pictures of him on a personal cell phone. Mr. Smith wants to know how these photographs are being used. He now faces a criminal court date and trumped up charges of theft, resisting arrest, and failure to obey a police officer.
The Washington Metro Transit Police has a long history of racially profiling young black transit riders, accusing them of fare evasion, violently arresting them, and needlessly involving black youth in the criminal legal system. A report from The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, found between 2016 and 2018, 91% of citations and summonses were issued to Black people. Forty-six percent of those citations were issued to black youth. Black children as young as seven have been stopped. Action on this is long overdue.
Despite numerous civilian complaints and DC City Council hearings, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has failed to meaningfully hold accountable its police agency. The ACLU-DC reported that in December 2020, the D.C. Council passed the “Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police Accountability Amendment Act of 2020” to create an independent, multi-jurisdictional civilian board to receive and investigate complaints against MTPD officers. To go into effect, Maryland and Virginia must pass identical legislation which would then go through Congressional approval.
Until Washington Metro Transit Police have checks and balances on their use of force, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney, John McCarthy, should end fare evasion prosecution where there is no accompanying violent crime. Mr. McCarthy recently spent $500,000 in a study intended to evaluate racial bias in his office’s prosecutorial decisions. Now, Mr. McCarthy has an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to ending such biased practices by denouncing the continued racial profiling of black people, particularly black youth by transit police.
The protest will be held at 4pm on Sunday June 19 at the scene of the abuse. Protesters will be demanding that all charges against Mr. Smith be dropped, that the police officers involved be fired, and that Maryland legislators pass police accountability legislation to authorized independent review of transit police.
Mr. Smith deserves the opportunity to enjoy his summer work, prepare for his final year of college, and to live free of the implications of an unjust criminal legal system. And every Metro rider deserves the same.
Silver Spring Justice Coalition 