WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Several riots inside D.C.'s Youth Detention Facility are under investigation, including one over the weekend. On Monday, council members took a surprise tour of the facility. That visit comes shortly after police arrested a 12-year-old boy in a carjacking.
The 12-year-old boy’s mother, surrounded by family members, stepped out of family court Monday afternoon and spoke with WUSA9 at length about the very difficult decision to turn her son in to the police. She said she will love her son no matter what. She didn’t want to go on camera, but she did assign a family representative to speak on her behalf. Tara Martin’s 17-year-old son Dalaneo Martin was killed in March by U.S. Park Police while he slept in what they believed was a stolen car. Monday, she spoke on behalf of the other mom who is also suffering after turning her 12-year-old son into police.
“Mom is discouraged that the system is broken,” said Martin. “[Turning her son in] was very difficult, but she didn’t want nobody harming her child because of what happened, and she loves her child. She loves her son so much. At the end of the day, we’re moms and at the end of the day any real mom is going to do what she did.”
In court proceedings Monday morning, the family’s attorney said mom was getting treatment for her son, but they lost counseling after the family moved. But recently, the boy started acting out, according to court social services, being aggressive towards his mom, towards a teacher, and missing curfew. Two Saturdays ago, at 10 p.m., police claim he and his 13-year-old friend Vernard Toney tried to carjack a U.S. Marshall Security Officer. The officer fought back and Toney was killed.
“The only service they have in the District of Columbia is if your child is committed to DYRS (Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services) and CFSA (Child and Family Services Agency) they don’t have any other services for our children out here,” said Martin.
“The Oasis program is designed to give youth services who have not been in the system,” responded Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White. White said a program is in the works to address that problem, but for now, he’s trying to tackle the concerns of young people who are detained in the system.
“What we saw today is alarming, there’s a lot of frustrated youth in here and as a result of being frustrated they’re acting out in various ways,” said the councilmember.
White chairs the committee that oversees the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. He and Councilmember At-Large Anita Bonds spent three hours inside the DYRS' Youth Services Center (YSC) in Northeast Monday talking to about 45 boys and girls.
“There’s a youth here with a swollen nose it’s been swollen since last week and he’s saying he don’t know if his nose is broken,” White explained. "He hasn't even had medical treatment or an x-ray."
He said in addition to severe staffing shortages, callouts, and low staff morale, there are serious safety and sanitary concerns at YSC including the lack of medical care, programs, only 30 minutes a day for education, skipped meals, only one hour outside of their cells, and limited water service.
“If you have to use the bathroom, you have to use it in that one hour so you can flush – that’s inhumane,” he said.
White said he was not satisfied with the answers or behavior from the administration during his visit and said the staffing shortages often lead to the mixing of age groups or offenders together which could be dangerous when considering the facility houses children as young as 12 and as old as 20 (before they go to an adult facility at 21).
“It’s compromising their lives by putting people in units they’re not supposed to be in and putting people in situations they’re not supposed to be in and as a result, several fights have occurred several assaults have occurred down to flooding units,” he explained.
The system, White said, is broken and inconsistent with three directors in six years. White hopes with the confirmation of the Interim Director Sam Abad will come real change. So, the system can do its part, while families do theirs.
“We all need to stick together and become a village because without a village we’re losing our children every second of the day and enough is enough and if you’re not tired, I am,” said Martin.
The 12-year-old will return to the detention center temporarily until he can be placed in a new facility where he can get the treatment he needs. He’ll be back in court in two weeks. Additionally, White expects to tour the Youth Services Center again in two weeks.