Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MPD Veteran Takes Over in 2nd District

There’s a new sheriff in town.

ark Carter, a 25-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, was named acting commander of the Second District, which includes Georgetown, on Monday. He is replacing former Cmdr. Andrew Solberg, who was promoted to MPD field commander.

“My intention is to make the Second District the best of the best,” Carter said.

Carter, a D.C. native, has been involved with MPD since 1983, first as a patrol officer and then a sergeant. He previously served as a patrol officer lieutenant for five years in the Georgetown area and has worked in the Second District for seven years.

Now five days into the job, Carter said he wants to open communication lines between MPD and those who live and work in the Second District, adding that he has already contacted people within the Second District community.

“I think of myself as a facilitator as opposed to an overseer,” he said. “I think that fostering communication and having action with that communication is necessary.”

Carter plans to discuss his goals and objectives for his first 100 days as commander at a meeting of the Citizen’s Advisory Council next week. Though his biggest goal is to foster communication with members of the community, Carter said he is also working on a staff assessment.

The change in leadership comes amid MPD Chief Cathy Lanier’s decision to shuffle top personnel at the police department, in which she replaced six of the seven district commanders in one day. This decision, an effort to improve efficiency, is the second move of its kind since Lanier assumed her role in December 2006.

President of the Citizens Association of Georgetown Denise Cunningham said she is sorry that the position turned over so quickly, as Solberg was appointed to the job in September 2006.

“We are very saddened about Commander Solberg’s reassignment. The Georgetown community leadership had established a very strong working relationship with him and he understood the community and its needs,” she said. “We are also disappointed to have yet again another change in command after only two years, as it takes time to develop these relationships.”

Carter said that he would like to work closely with the Department of Public Safety and Georgetown University, although he said he was unfamiliar with former Commander Solberg’s “party patrols” in West Georgetown and Burleith.

Though upset with too-quick a change in leadership, Cunningham said she hopes to meet with Carter in the near future.

“We have asked for a meeting with Acting Commander Carter to hear his plans for PSA 206 [which includes Georgetown] and present our ideas to him,” she said.

“I think everybody needs to be involved [in crime prevention], from the government to businesses to students,” Carter said.

Carter said he recognizes that he will not be able to solve all crime problems in the Second District but that he hopes to address issues by bringing the community together.

“It’s not in my hands; it’s in our hands,” he said.

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