Rogue Party Patrol Charged With Assault of Piñatas
By Amanda Diallo
GEORGETOWN – Three Metropolitan Police Department officers were arrested yesterday and charged with first degree assault after a neighborhood party raid ended in candy-filled gore several weeks ago.
MPD spokesman Dan O’Coligan refused to give the names of the officers taken into custody citing their desire for discretion in the case. The arrests concluded a three-week-long internal MPD investigation in which hundreds of officers were questioned.
The incident in question began at 6:54 PM on Dec 11, when 911 operators received a emergency distress call from a male who, in order to maintain anonymity, identified himself only as “Vice President for Student Affairs T. Olson.” Operators were unable to further identify the caller but noted that he seemed particularly distressed. As the phone line cut in and out, T.O., as the witness report refers to the unidentified man, in between bouts of hysterical screaming and crying, informed operators that “someone…oh god…there…someone’s having some kind of…joyous occasion…I repeat…there is a party…I see some kind of…there’s some kind of phonograph-type device unleashing furious noise and…I see children…they’re screaming and running…for the love of god send help!”
The dispatcher immediately radioed for nearby officers to respond as quickly as possible, designating the call a level-A priority. MPD Officers O’Malley and O’Halladay, who were in hot pursuit of an escaped convicted serial rapist and crack-cocaine dealer, took the call and arrived on the scene at 7:01 pm.
At 7:03 they radioed for backup, saying the party had gotten out of control. They reported an unknown number of 8-10 year old party goers celebrating some sort of ritualistic birth anniversary.
The police report claims that several backup units arrived shortly thereafter, and what happened next is highly disputed. All that is known is that at some point several of the officers lost their cool and expended 38 rounds of live ammunition into 6 piñatas at point blank range.
The District Attorney’s office refused to comment on an ongoing case, however witnesses said that the party patrol that arrived seemed nervous and on edge, twitching with excitement as they entered the party with guns unholstered and safeties off.
MPD has been running what it refers to as “party patrols” since fall of 2007 in response to increasing demand for party control in Georgetown. MPD Police Commissioner Shamus Erin Go Bra O’Tool-O’Branigan said the patrols were created after a survey of Washington, DC residents cited “college parties” as a top priority in one of the nation’s highest violent-crime cities. “Do we have crack addicts? Yes. Do we have murderers and rapists on the streets? Yes. But do we really need to hear Bon Jovi at 3am on a Saturday?” O’Tool-O’Branigan said at a press conference in October 2007.
The incident in question resulted in all six piñatas being rushed to Georgetown University Hospital and then later to GWU Hospital when a holy water IV treatment at GU failed to 
close the bullet holes. Five of the piñatas were in stable condition as of Monday morning. One of the piñatas remains in critical condition even after several emergency Hershey’s Kissterectomies.
close the bullet holes. Five of the piñatas were in stable condition as of Monday morning. One of the piñatas remains in critical condition even after several emergency Hershey’s Kissterectomies.Students at Georgetown and across D.C. held vigils Tuesday night for the fallen piñatas. “Our hearts go out to the families of all those beautiful candy-filled party horses,” said one student.
The shooting occurred a mere two blocks away from Georgetown’s main campus and for weeks students say they found Snickers and Skittles rappers littering 35th street, a silent testament to the atrocities committed.
Thousands across the nation gathered to send their prayers to the families of the piñatas
Commissioner O’Tool-O’Branigan made brief comments following the arrests saying he hoped it would bring closure. He did not defend the officers’ actions although he did say, “As regrettable a situation as this is, it is not entirely unexpected. You put together an elite team of party patrollers, heavily arm them, and send them into highly volatile environments where they’re surrounded by college students or even small children trying to enjoy themselves and obviously even the most hardened officer is going to want to shoot something.”
This was not the first time MPD party patrollers opened fire. In November of 2007, officers kicked in the doors to Dahlgren Chapel upon receiving a report of a marriage in progress. Party Patrollers in full Kevlar body armor stormed the Chapel and opened fire on the buffet table after several revelers began to sing Journey. No one of note was injured. Several college students were rushed to the emergency room.
