Norton Reassured by Call to Park Police Chief following Attempted Robbery on the Mall

Norton Reassured by Call to Park Police Chief following Attempted Robbery on the Mall

March 29, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today spoke with U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers about the attempted robbery on the National Mall yesterday, and was reassured that the Park Police has the resources to deploy more public safety officers on the Mall and that mounted police and police on bikes and scooters are regularly on duty there. Police arrived on the scene just moments after the incident, and helicopters were in the air to look for the suspects after a man was accosted near the Smithsonian Castle around 5:00 p.m., in daylight, by what appeared to be two masked teenagers. The victim, in his 60s, was knocked to the ground, but when he resisted, the suspects fled without completing the robbery.

"I am particularly concerned that youth were involved in this crime on the Mall at a time when youth violence is of increasing concern in this country," Norton said. "However, older, more experienced criminals might have known better than to target the Mall, particularly after police quickly caught attackers in the Mall muggings several years ago. I continue to consider the Mall among the safest places in the District."

Norton, who has been inspecting the Mall each summer since several muggings six years ago, said she regretted crime on the Mall, particularly at the start of the busiest tourist season for the District. "Generally, the combination of police walking, driving, on horseback and on scooters, along with our very vigilant community, keeps the Mall a very safe and secure place," Norton said.