Prince George's Headlines: Prostitution Sting, Wal-Mart Bomb Threat
A federal sexual harassment lawsuit against police, a little café slamming big name music venues in a radio competition, and more this week.
Police arrest 10 in a Laurel prostitution sting; a school bus driver is sentenced for producing child porn; Doctors Hospital faces a lawsuit by the family of a man who died after a run-in with police; Bowie Wal-Mart was evacuated after a bomb threat; Hyattsville Council is mum on a federal sexual harassment lawsuit against police; and a cafe is slamming metro area music venue giants in a radio contest—headlines tell of a busy week in Prince George's County.
Police Arrest 10 in North Laurel Prostitution Sting
Police in North Laurel continue to make business a little more difficult for prostitutes. A sting along Route 1 yielded 10 arrest last week. Police say the arrests were part of an ongoing operation to reduce prostitution along the Route 1 corridor.
Former Pr. George's School Bus Driver Sentenced for Child Porn
An Upper Marlboro man was sentenced to 55 years in prison for producing child pornography. The man was a Prince George's County Public Schools bus driver.
Mang Family Files Lawsuit Against Doctors Hospital
Following a run-in with Greenbelt Police, Michael Mang was evaluated at Doctors Hospital and released, according to a previous lawsuit against Greenbelt. He died within hours.
Hyattsville Council Mum on Harassment Case
If you tuned into last night's Hyattsville City Council meeting wondering if there would be any reaction to the recently filed federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment on the city police force, keep wondering.
Bomb Threat Evacuates Bowie Wal-Mart
The Wal-Mart on Crain Highway in Bowie reopened at approximately 3:30 p.m. on July 17 after being evacuated two and a half hours earlier for a bomb threat. A bomb technician and bomb sniffing dogs were dispatched by the Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGFD), but according to police no explosives were detected.
New Deal Café Slamming Top Music Venues in Radio Contest
A small café in Greenbelt, MD, increases the distance between "the little café that could" and metro-area music venue giants.
Conservation Group Gives 100% Ratings to 22nd District Lawmakers
The Maryland League of Conservation Voters awarded all four of the 22nd district's elected officials 100 percent ratings in its 2012 Environmental Scorecard this week.
'Language Barrier' Led to False Alarm Over Armed Men
The University of Maryland was briefly put on alert Wednesday morning as officers searched for what they believed to be two armed men near campus. The problem: the manhunt was the result of a misunderstanding caused by a language barrier.
Jay Friedman
9:59 am on Sunday, July 22, 2012
Dear Reporter. Language is not an object. A wall can be a barrier, language is not a barrier by itself. In your story, Failure by the police or the caller to understand English can cause a misunderstanding. Please clarify. Most local police have someone available to translate Spanish to English. What language was the person speaking. This alert utilized significant resources by police and campus residence staff as well as off campus police. Please try to get all the players identified. Thank you.
Deborah Coleman
11:42 am on Sunday, July 22, 2012
Would it really make a difference to know what language the person was speaking? And why do all the players need to be identified? It's over, a done deal, Law enforcement and campus staff responded in the manner in which they were supposed to respond. It's their job and they did it well.