DC police cars totaled after officers drag race

Four Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were involved in a drag race last week that led to two totaled vehicles and damage to a residence in Washington, D.C.

The incident occurred on Thursday in the city’s Kenilworth neighborhood and resulted in the four officers being sent to area hospitals with non-life threatening issues. The officers have been placed on leave.

Fox 5 DC, which first reported on the crashes, obtained an internal email sent by MPD’s 6th district commander, Durriyyah Habeebullah, on Friday that indicated the race and subsequent crashes occurred around 5 p.m.

“Yesterday two 6D scout cars were totaled because officers decided instead of fighting crime, patrolling their beats, or engaging the community — they decided to drag race each other on Anacostia Avenue at 5 pm in the evening,” the commander wrote.

“What does this say to all the members of MPD who are passionate about their job and work hard every day to make a difference. This is not fair to any of us,” she continued.

In a statement to The Hill on Monday, MPD officials confirmed aspects of the Fox 5 report.

“MPD is currently investigating an incident in which two MPD vehicles were involved in a traffic accident on Thursday, April 22, 2021, in the 1400 block of Anacostia Avenue, NE. Preliminarily, it appears the members may have been racing the vehicles, resulting in an accident. Four Sixth District MPD members were taken to area hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The members involved have been placed on non-contact for the course of the investigation,” said an MPD spokesperson.

Video obtained by Fox 5 DC shows two wrecked squad cars, while another photo posted on Twitter showed damage to a fence caused by one or both of the cars.

Took out a fence too!! pic.twitter.com/1oMJTPlBLM

— Lindsay Watts (@LindsayAWatts) April 25, 2021