[Scan-DC] Reagan National and Dulles airports

Fri, 2 Apr 2004 10:08:40 -0500

Let me try to clear up some misperceptions. First as to 9/11, that was in
all ways an exception. However, Arlington County FD responds to the
Pentagon, not because of jurisdiction, but because of an agreement (i.e.,
contract) with the Department of Defense that allowed the DoD to reduce the
fire stations at Fort Myer and the Navy Annex and save money. The Pentagon
is under the exclusive police jurisdiction of the federal government.
Arlington County has no police authority and jurisdiction there. What they
did was provide assistance in controlling traffic, as did VSP and others.
The crime scene was processed and controlled by the FBI and the Army
Military Police. Again, 9/11 was unusual. Under "normal" circumstances,
police functions, both law enforcement and security are accomplished by the
Defense Protective Service in combination with an annual rotation of police
personnel from the services. Depending on the character of the offence it
will be investigated by Army CID (primarily), NCIS, or OSI or a
combination. Under a wide range of circumstances, the FBI may assume
control of an investigation (too complex to go into here). The Pentagon is
more complex than most other military jurisdictions because it is
multi-service.

Like the Pentagon (and Fort Belvoir, and similar installations in DC and
Maryland), most (not all) other federal property are legally located in,
but not a part of, Virginia. They are independent entities. If you drive
drunk on Belvoir (or Fort Myer, etc.) you will be arrested by the military
police, go to a federal court (magistrate), and be imprisoned in a federal
jail. Similarly, if you do the same thing on DCA or IAD property, the same
process will be followed except you will be apprehended by the MWAA police.
The same thing happens at the White House, contrary to the movie. A murder
there would be investigated by the FBI, not MPD. Similar rules apply on
exclusive jurisdiction US Park Service property. (That can get more
complicated because parts of National Park property get involved in a thing
called concurrent jurisdiction.) If you recall when Foster's body was found
along the GW Parkway, the scene was secured by the Park Police who also
conducted the preliminary investigation until the arrival of the FBI. It
is, for example, what the law about pregnant women signed yesterday by the
President is all about - it is now a double homicide on FEDERAL property,
i.e., the situations above. It is not a double homicide if tit occurs, for
example, in Fairfax County.

Federal police officers for smaller jurisdictions often attend local police
academies because it is cheaper for the federal government to pay the local
academy than set up a training program of their own. The other is that
there is a thing called the Assimilative Crimes Act. Essentially, it states
that if there is no federal law pertaining to the crime at hand, the laws
passed by the state legislature will be assimilated into the federal code.

Regards
Bill Hardman

> [Original Message]
> From: Grabill <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Date: 4/2/2004 8:47:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Reagan National and Dulles airports
>
> All:
>
> I don't know if this will further muddy the issue or make things easier,
> but here is my two cents....
>
> First responders to the Pentagon after 9/11 were Arlington County Fire.
The
> Pentagon is in the 'first due' area for them, not DC. I was at the
Pentagon
> on 9/11, and never saw any equipment from DC fire, it was all Virginia.
> Arlington County PD handled all traffic control and Law Enforcement duties
> except inside the Pentagon itself (at that time, Defense Protective
Service,
> the 'Pentagon Police' were basically just building guards. DPS also
guarded
> Headquarters, Marine Corps, at Arlington Annex, just up the hill from the
> Pentagon). Arlington Annex carries two addresses, one a DC, the other a
> Virginia. Arlington County Fire was also our first due company.
>
>
>
> Last year, I was thinking about applying to National Airport/Dulles
> Airport, Police. When I talked to them, they advised me that all of their
> officers attend Virginia Police academies.
>
> I don't know if that helps or not.
>
> Jason
>
>
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