What to Know
- Police forces will surge when ridership surges, for example, when school gets out. More officers are going through lengthy training.
- Metro riders are still wary about taking the train, being more aware of their surroundings.
- Two teens were killed at the Deanwood Metro station in recent weeks. One teen was stabbed. The other was shot.
Following that deadly stabbing at the Deanwood Metro station on Monday, the transit agency and D.C. Metropolitan police said they are stepping up patrols in that area until further notice.
Extra patrols were out on Tuesday, and police forces will surge when ridership surges, for example, when school gets out. With two recent fatal incidents at the location, the Deanwood station holds a notorious meaning for riders, who find the events unsettling.
Candice Rivera, a Metro rider, was waiting to catch a train on the same platform where a teenager was shot and killed weeks ago and where a teen was stabbed to death inside the station.
“Got to watch your back. Watch who you talk to. Watch who you are around,” Rivera said.
Metro said a transit police officer was the first to respond to Monday’s fatal stabbing when John Evans III, 15, was killed. They said the officer was on a nearby train and on the scene within five minutes, attempting CRP on Evans.
When asked why more transit police aren’t around, Metro police Chief Ron Pavlik said the time of day was a factor.
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"This happened shortly before 11 o clock, which is a very off time of the day,” Pavlik said. “But our stepped up enforcement, our surge started in the afternoon. So you are seeing increased police presence from 4pm until (close)."
Even with more officers around, D.C. police say it may not have mattered, because this latest death happened so fast. For other riders like Kerry Woods, there is still an unsure feeling waiting for a ride.
"I don't think it is safe enough,” Woods said. “There's been too much stuff going on that I hear."
Another 15-year-old boy, Davonte Washington, was fatally shot on the platform of the Deanwood station March 26 after another teen approached him and asked why he was looking at him, witnesses told police. Washington was headed to get a haircut for Easter with his mother and sisters.
For right now, this particular metro station under a watchful eye of authorities. However, there are calls for more transit police officers in the system, who take extra time to train because of the areas they patrol.
Metro transit police officers have to know the laws and procedures in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The extra knowledge they have to have means it takes them longer to get into service.
Pavlik said from a numbers perspective, his police force can't be everywhere all at once.
"To have an officer at every single 91 stations, 186 entrances and exits would be a phenomenal task," Pavlik said.
Metro transit police graduated a class last week. The graduates are training in the field.
