A new Metro Police desk in Dupont Circle. They seem to have a nice view of the station (albeit with a huge blind spot underneath them). While I think increased police presence in the Metro system is a generally a good thing, I wonder why they don't have this visible a presence in L'Enfant or Gallery Place, where there seem to be more theft/assault incidents.
i_still_believe_in_u added this photo to their favorites. (15 months ago)
ep_jhu 15 months ago | reply
I was stopped by a member of the Metro Police for taking this photo.
Though I was asked for ID, I felt I was not being "reasonably suspicious", as Section 100.8(a)(2) of WMATA's use regulations affirms the legal rights of photographers on WMATA property (and Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn has reaffirmed this), so I refused. I did give them my real name - otherwise I'd be lying to a Police officer which is generally in bad form. I'll probably end up on some list.
Instead of ID, I offered to show the officer photos I've taken around the Metro system, to which he said yes. I showed him photos from this set, boarded my train when it arrived, and went home.
Sgt. A - if you see this photo, I apologize for laughing in your face when you mentioned "the terrorist situation".
JamesCalder 15 months ago | reply
Hi Eric - the reason for the police/WMATA setup there is specifically for crowd control while the south exit is closed for escalator replacement. I believe they (police/WMATA staff) can even delay train arrivals by having them hold in the tunnel to avoid platform and escalator overcrowding.
ep_jhu 15 months ago | reply
Ah cool... thanks for the info. I knew they had some procedures for emergencies during the closure of the south exit, but having the foresight to implement this type of crowd control/safety shows pretty good planning, I think.
JamesCalder 15 months ago | reply
I know - especially with our generally low expectations of WMATA, I think many people were pleasantly surprised by this.