Thirteen D.C. police officers arrested this year

This is not original reporting. All information was obtained from The Washington Post article "D.C. Police Are Arrested At High Rate" printed April 16.

Thirteen D.C. police officers have been arrested on various charges ranging from physical assault to drunk driving in the year 2004 alone, according to a Washington Post article.

The number of arrests in D.C. is far above the number in other parts of the D.C. metropolitan area as well as in other cities throughout the U.S. In Chicago, for example, which has a police force triple the size of D.C.'s, there have been only four arrests of officers this year, says the Post.

Two of the arrested officers this year committed offenses while allegedly on duty. The two officers were accused of physical assault and sexual assault, respectively. The rest of the offenses were committed by off-duty officers. These crimes include drunk driving as well as physical assault.

According to the Post, current Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey believes that the problems with officers can not be attributed to him, since 10 of the 13 officers arrested this year were hired before he became chief. Six of the officers were hired in the period between 1989 and 1990, when a "massive hiring push" caused the department to lower standards for prospective officers.

Ramsay also denied that the arrests indicate a larger problem in his 3,700-member force.

Several police experts interviewed by Post reporters last week stated that off-duty arrests may negatively influence the opinions of fellow officers as well as tarnish the public's image of the D.C. force.