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Prince George’s County’s New Policy
Adds to Confusion Over Police Pursuits
The Prince George’s County Council has launched itself into a confusing mix of local laws on police pursuits by approving new limits last month on the authority for car chases.
Prince George’s County set new standards that allow police to pursue fleeing vehicles “if there is a reasonable and articulable suspicion” that the occupants are involved in serious crimes.
Pursuing officers must maintain “a balance between the need to apprehend the violator and the risks of potential danger to themselves and citizens,” according to the county police department’s manual.
They must use emergency lights and sirens, avoid excessive speed and slow when approaching intersections.
The county council was inspired to action by three deaths of bystanders in less than two months last winter during police pursuits. One of the victims was a three-year-old girl who was a passenger in her mother’s car when it was hit by a fleeing suspect’s vehicle.
The new Prince George’s County law is similar to D.C.’s police pursuit policy. The old law gave police broader discretion.
The Fairfax County, Va., Police Department policy also grants wide discretion to officers as long as they demonstrate “due regard” for safety, terminate chases in dangerous conditions and the persons being pursued are suspected of worse than low-level offenses.
Adding to the confusion is a move in Congress to override the D.C. policy by loosening the restrictions on police pursuits.
In September, the House approved a bill that would eliminate a D.C. rule allowing car chases only when police suspect a violent crime or when there is an immediate threat of death or serious injury to another person. The bill awaits Senate action.
Normally police are protected from liability by a qualified immunity, even when innocent persons are injured in car chases. Officers and their police departments would be liable for a reckless disregard for safety but not for simple negligence.
Justice Dept. Opens New Section
To Protect Gun Ownership Rights
The Justice Department plans to open a new civil rights section Dec. 4 dedicated to protecting Second Amendment gun ownership rights.
Attorneys in the section are supposed to use their enforcement authority to contest local laws or policies they believe are overly restrictive on gun rights.
The Justice Department is trying to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump issued just after being inaugurated in January that seeks to protect gun ownership.
The order requires a review of gun restrictions to “assess any ongoing infringements.”
“Because it is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed,” the order says.
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Latest News
Lawmakers Threatened with Prosecution
For Telling Soldiers to Ignore “Illegal” Orders
Some members of Congress who told U.S. soldiers in a video message last week that they have a right to disobey orders they described as “illegal” are being threatened with criminal prosecution.
Four of the six lawmakers served in the U.S. military.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at least one of them could be court-martialed, despite the fact all of the lawmakers are retired from the military.
Other threats came from President Donald Trump. He accused the Democrats of sedition.
He called them “traitors” on his Truth Social platform. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” he wrote.
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Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Congress Investigates Fairfax Schools
After Reports of Antisemitic Incidents
Congress is investigating allegations of antisemitism in Fairfax County Public Schools after reported bullying of Jewish students.
A letter announcing the investigation was sent to school officials by House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.)
The letter described reports of antisemitic graffiti in Fairfax schools and an anti-Israel walkout organized by the schools’ Muslim Student Associations. The letter also raised questions about a video produced by the Muslim Student Associations that appeared to spoof the kidnapping of Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants.
A Fairfax County Public Schools statement said officials plan to cooperate in the investigation. “FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members,” the statement said.
Fairfax County Public Schools in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is Virginia’s largest school district. Similar allegations of antisemitism have been lodged against the Montgomery County Public Schools in the Maryland suburbs.
The House Education and Workforce Committee also is investigating antisemitism at public schools in Philadelphia and Berkeley, Calif.
The U.S. Department of Education interprets Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to mean school officials must take affirmative action to counter antisemitism and other forms of racism.
They are required to investigate the reports and to take “immediate and appropriate action” when they find discrimination or a “hostile environment.”
They are supposed to discipline the offending persons and implement prevention policies.
Nationwide Refugee Status Review Started
After National Guardsmen Shot in D.C.
A Trump administration plan to review green card residency of immigrants from every “country of concern” after the shooting last week of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., is raising civil rights concerns.
President Donald Trump said he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations.
Critics of the plan say it creates the image of selective enforcement.
If proven, selective enforcement would be a violation of constitutional rights to equal protection under the law.
The two Guardsmen were shot in the head in downtown Washington by an Afghani man who arrived in the United States in 2021 under a Biden-era program to evacuate Afghan nationals at risk of reprisal from the Taliban. About 76,000 of them, including accused shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal, were granted asylum and green card residency.
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We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
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Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org