A D.C. grand jury declined to indict a man accused of assaulting a federal agent during President Donald Trump’s takeover of policing in Washington, D.C. It marks at least the third case in which prosecutors have failed to clear the famously low bar of securing such an indictment.
Police pulled over Alvin Summers near the National Mall after he allegedly drove a Ford Bronco in an area where cars aren’t allowed. Police alleged Summers “speed-walked” away during the encounter, then resisted arrest and “grabbed” a U.S. Park Police officer “by the upper body with force,” pulling them both to the ground.
Summers became one of at least 17 people prosecutors have accused of “assaulting” or “impeding” a federal agent since Trump began his crackdown on crime in D.C. two and a half weeks ago. But an attorney for Summers wrote in a filing Thursday that on Aug. 21 a grand jury declined to indict Summers on the felony charge, which can carry up to eight years in prison.
“[The] officer’s testimony was rejected by the grand jury, presumably after reviewing the body-worn camera video,” the attorney, A.J. Kramer, wrote.
Kramer was opposing the government’s motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, which would leave the door open to prosecutors pursuing the charge again.
“Allowing the government the possibility of re-bringing charges under these circumstances is prejudicial and unwarranted,” Kramer argued.
News of the failed indictment against Summers was first reported by The New York Times.
The U.S. attorney’s office for D.C., which is headed by Trump ally and former Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro, was unable to secure grand-jury indictments in two other such cases in recent days. It’s a strong indication that D.C. citizens are skeptical of the government’s allegations and, at least in these cases, agree with defense attorneys that the charges are overblown.
Earlier this week, a grand jury took a pass on indicting Sean Charles Dunn for allegedly assaulting a Customs and Border Protection officer by throwing a sandwich at him.
Prosecutors also swung and missed three times trying to get an indictment against Sydney Lori Reid. Reid had filmed immigration agents in public during an inmate swap in July and got shoved against a wall. Prosecutors alleged she “forcefully pushed” a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent during the incident.
Like the grand juries, some judges in federal court have been leery of the cases Pirro’s office has been bringing. One of them, Judge Zia M. Faruqui, chastised the prosecutor’s office for pursuing a gun case built on what he called a blatantly illegal search that violated the Fourth Amendment. “Lawlessness cannot come from the government,” he announced.
Defense attorneys told HuffPost this week they believed in some cases prosecutors were bringing excessive charges just to make Trump’s crime crackdown look more meaningful.
“They just want to have big numbers and to say they’re doing an amazing job,” said one, Heather Shaner. “Too bad for the people of the District of Columbia.”