D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) on Monday authorized police to use “any overtime necessary” to confront gun violence and to search for the killer of a 6-year-old girl who was shot Friday night in Southeast Washington.
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Meanwhile, police said their investigation into Nyiah Courtney’s killing is advancing with the recovery of a vehicle detectives believe was used in the drive-by attack at Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X avenues in Congress Heights.
Chief Robert J. Contee III said the Saturn Ion was found burned in Northeast Washington. He would not comment on whether any evidence was found.
Nyiah was walking with her father, mother and older sister when the shooting occurred. The girl, her mother and four others were struck by bullets.
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Nyiah’s family and residents of the area demanded a swift arrest or arrests. They also are pushing for changes to the street where they shooting occurred, saying adding sit-down restaurants and grocery stores would discourage loitering.
D.C. Council weighs smaller police force, budget
On Saturday, Contee used his authority to temporarily shut down a corner liquor store steps from the shooting, noting police had been called there 256 times since Jan. 1, including 25 times for drug complaints.
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And Monday, Bowser informed Council leaders she has authorized police to spend overtime, as she is required to do by law. Bowser said in her letter the city “has been grappling with a sustained increase in gun violence,” noting the shooting of Nyiah and other “terrible incidents of this past weekend.”
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A shooting Saturday night outside Nationals Park during a ballgame wounded two men police said were targeted and a female bystander who had left the game and was waiting for an Uber. The game was called off after fans inside the stadium heard the shots and raced for safety or hid behind their seats.
Bowser said the violence “illustrates how far we still must go to address the brazen shooters in our neighborhoods.”
Slain 6-year-old wanted to be a dancer and anticipated starting first grade
The mayor also wrote that residents are calling for “a strong, sustained police presence” and that some “do not feel safe while the threat of gun violence looms.”
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She said increased deployments will require overtime, citing a police force that is shrinking and is currently unable to hire. Bowser said “the better solution is to fully staff our police force.”
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Council members seeking alternative justice programs have called for fewer officers, and last year they cut $15 million from the mayor’s proposed police budget. This year, Bowser submitted a budget with a 6 percent cut and no new hires until April 2022. Police have said those hires would not keep up with accelerating retirements and resignations.
The police force, which in 2018 had nearly 3,800 officers, is now down to 3,584, Contee said, and is projected to drop another 100 by the end of next year, which would be the smallest department in two decades.
Contee said the overtime is welcome and “very necessary,” adding that a high volume of crime is among the “things that we warned about” when confronted with a smaller department.