The recent transfer of Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Phillip Lanciano has caused controversy in our neighborhood.
A little background: Lt. Lanciano has been assigned to patrol Foggy Bottom for the last 11 years, until the end of October, when he was reassigned to a patrol in Southeast. During his career in the area, he frequently worked with members of the community and established some strong relationships with our neighbors.
So, not surprisingly, his transfer to a neighborhood on the other side of the District was met with criticism, and everyone from the Foggy Bottom Association, the local Neighborhood Advisory Commission, the University Police Department and the University administration has called for Lt. Lanciano to be assigned back to Foggy Bottom.
Like any controversy, there is another side to the story. While they respect the position of the neighbors, MPD has decided to stick with their decision and keep Lt. Lanciano in Southeast. Speaking for MPD at a West End Citizens Association meeting, Acting Commander Matthew Klein refuted the report that the transfer was a punishment and said that the transfer was a routine decision made by Chief of Police Cathy Lanier.
In such a controversy, there is a rush to assign blame. There are two distinct sides to this story, so there must be a right and wrong, right? Either the neighborhood is right, and Lt. Lanciano should be reassigned to Foggy Bottom, where he could continue his seemingly commendable work, or MPD is right and the transfer should stay in effect.
As it turns out, they’re both right. There is no right answer to this debate and in a maybe unprecedented occurrence, everyone seems to have done their job perfectly.
The respective neighborhood associations should all be commended. They lobbied aggressively for their residents, trying valiantly to keep a respected law enforcement member protecting the neighborhood. Moreover, the way they appealed to MPD was respectful and was done in a way that was forceful but deferred to the authority of the department.
The administration, too, deserves praise. As perhaps the most notable private resident of Foggy Bottom/West End, the University was compelled to take a position in the debate. As Lt. Lanciano is by all accounts an excellent officer, it would only make sense that GW would want to keep him here, protecting the students and staff.
Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, our neighborhood’s representative on the D.C. City Council, also did the right thing. He answered his constituents respectfully but ultimately decided he could not get involved. “If you give a Council member power over personnel matters, you lose your police department,” Evans said.
In using this excellent judgment, Councilman Evans is serving his constituents better in the long run. By choosing not to get involved with the internal affairs of MPD, he has guaranteed that the decisions made by the police department are left to qualified people, thus maintaining the integrity of the department.
And then there is the Metropolitan Police Department. They clearly trained and developed a great officer and placed him where he is clearly most needed. By making this decision despite the criticism, they are showing that the needs of all D.C. residents supersede the wishes of one neighborhood.
Finally, perhaps the most praise belongs to Lt. Lanciano himself. In an age where relations between law enforcement and communities are not always flawless, the fact that this controversy stems from a neighborhood’s respect for and trust in an officer is refreshing. Hopefully, he finds as much success on his new patrol as he found here.
This is how neighborhood relations should be, and here’s to hoping that future controversies are handled this well by all parties again.
The writer, a junior majoring in criminal justice, is a Hatchet columnist.
