The Washington Metro Transit PoUce: Keeping the Community Safe Interview with Daniel Hall
Nicole White U.S. History, David Brandt 2/5/2005 statement of Purpose
The purpose ofthis oral history project is to offer a personal account of the
beginning years of the Washington Area Transit system and its police department, through an interview with retired Metro Transit Deputy Chief Police, Daniel Hall. Hall
was one of the first members of the Washington Metro Transit Police Department and his
direct involvement with Metro helps to provide a very detailed account of the creation,
growth, and changes that the Washington Metro and its police department have
experienced over the years, and the effect that it has had on its surrounding community. Biography of Daniel Hall
Daniel Deidrich Hall was bom in Cleveland, Ohio in 1948 and was raised in a middle class communis onthe East Side of Cleveland with his two sisters, his cousin,
and his parents. He has hved in Cleveland, Ohio; Reading, Pennsylvania; Centreville,
Virginia; and Silver Spring, Maryland. Daniel Hall graduated from Glenville High
School and studied at the Universi^ of Cleveland, the F.B.I. Academy and the Southern
Police Institute.
After High school, Daniel Hall became the first Afiican American technician to work for the N.C.R. (The National Cash Register Company), and he later was drafted into the marines. Preferring not to serve in the Marines, he enhstedhimself for a four-year term in the U.S. Army. He served in the U.S. Army from August 1968 to April 1974.
Furthermore, he tempormily served as the bodyguard for His Imperial Majesty while
stationed in Ethiopia, where he was deployed twice. While on KP duty, he volunteered to
pmticipate in a two-week intensive leadership program. Had he not volunteered for this
program he would have been deployed to Vietnam during the time of the Vietnam War.
While in the military. Hall received police training. Subsequently, he became one of the first members of the Washington Area Metro Trmisit Police Department. On March 22,
1976, he began working with Metro. This was three months prior to the opening of Metro
in June of 1976. He made the first felony arrest of the Metro Transit Police. He received the General Mmiager's Award in 1987 for reducing crime in the parking lots. Through his
years with the Transit Police, he held various rankings of; sergeant, lieutenant,
commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, Captain, and Deputy Chief. He has three children: Daniel Willimii Hall II, Tyish Sowteem, and David Deidrich Hall, and he
is now married to Nuria Fernandez. Hall has retired from the Metro Transit Police
Depmtment mid is now residing in Silver Spring, MD. Hall, being one of the first
members of the Metro Transit Police, was one of the young men and women who helped
shape and build the Transit Police system at Metro into what it is now. Historical Contextualization Washington Metropolitan Transit Police Department: Protecting and Uniting the Community
From the early 20th century through the 1940s, Washingtonians dremiied of a
subway system comparable to Boston's or Philadelphia's. The first suggestion for a rapid transit system, in 1959, entailed the idea of rail trmisit being foiled with the massive
system of highways. But following the election of 1960, President Kennedy gave
govemment positions to highway opponents who advocated using the rail system as a
substitute for new freeways. They considered mmiy options, however, after initial defeat
in 1963, in 1965 Kennedy's appointees convinced Congress to consent to a modest rail
system that did not threaten highways at all (Schrag). This transit system (that made
cross-town travel quick and easy) eventually became one of the most up-to-date subway
systems in America (Washington: Past and Present). This transit system, which came to
be known as Metro, helped to tie the areas of Washington D.C, Virginia, and Maryland together, and has been serving the purpose of simple mass transit for many years, and it
still serves that purpose to this day. This Metro system has come an incredibly long way
in uniting and improving the quality of transportation in its surrounding areas mid has
been able to do so while maintaining clean facilities and an incredibly low crime rate,
which cmi be credited to the work done by the Metro Transit Police.
In 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Capital
Transportation Act, which created the National Capital Transportation Agency
(NCTA). NCTA's priority was to develop a rapid rail system for Washington, DC.
The NCTA developed a plmi in 1962 that was approved by President Lyndon Johnson.
He authorized $431 million to create the Washington Metropolitan Area Trmisit Authority (WMATA), which replaced the NCTA in 1967 and still governs
Washington's Metro system today (Washington D.C).
With the passage of the 1965 act, plminers made their focal point the District of
Columbia. Then in 1966, Congress transferred plmining power from a federal agency to a public authority: the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
WMATA representatives from the District of Columbia, Mmyland, and Virginia looked for a regional system with service in every direction. The planners examined several alternatives. In early 1968, the authority approved a 98-mile regional system, nmiiing it
Metro (Schrag).
Metro was built and approved in 1968, however following events necessitated some alterations. After the D.C. riots of April 1968,where an outraged public bumed down many D.C. buildings in response to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the
District of Columbia officials rerouted the mid-city line in an attempt to encourage the rebuilding of those burned-out areas. In 1977 and 1978, the federal govemment insisted that local governments reconsider the unbuilt portion of the system. Only in early 2001 did WMATA complete all the lines planned in 1968 (Schrag).
Beginning in the late 1950's, engineers painstakingly thought of all possible methods of vehicles. Government engineers rejected monorails--which would require larger, more expensive tunnels. They also rejected the idea of having rubber-tired trains, which are fine for all-urban systems but which do not do as well on long, suburban straight-aways. They settled on a more traditional, duo rail, steel-wheel vehicles with a low-maintenance exterior (Schrag). Though Metro's engineers were fairly cautious when it came to new technology, they were confident that advmices in electronics would allow them to automate much of the system, minimizing labor costs and increasing efficiency. Though people operate trains, in theory they can be completely controlled from a central control room.
Furthermore, hoping to avoid the dirt mid chaos of the New York subway, Washington's planners looked to Toronto's new subway as a model. Their early concepts promised
clean, bright stations, but they lacked the drama of the new Dulles Airport, 25 miles west
of Washington. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson called for architecturally significant
stations.
By the summer of 1968, engineers were almost ready to break ground, but they
were delayed by Congress, which insisted that the District of Columbia first begin its
freeway construction. Groundbre^ing finally took place on 9 December 1969. For
Metro's builders, the human environment was as great a challenge as any natural obstacle.
Mmiy residential neighborhoods favored the transit system, just as long as some other
neighborhood got the stations mid their parking lots. Downtown merchants complained that construction scared away customers. To address some of these concerns, engineers
worked to dampen noise, assess environmental impacts, mid preserve historic structures
along the routes.
With this new creation of a mass trmisit system in a relatively high population
area, a police force was necessary to maintain order in the Metro region mid surrounding
areas. The Metropolitan Transit Police Depmtment has mi authorized strength of three
hundred mid eighty sworn and twenty-three civilian personnel. Officers provide a variety
of law enforcement and public safety services on the Metrorail and Metrobus systems in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Metro Trmisit Police Officers have jurisdiction mid arrest powers throughout the 1,500 square mile Transit Zone, for crimes that occur on or against Transit Authority facilities. The Metro Transit Police Department is the only tri- jurisdictional police agency in the country. The Metro Transit Police serves a population of 3.2 million (Metro Transit Police).
The Washington Area Metro Transit Authority operates the second largest rail transit system, and the fifth largest bus network in the world. Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.5 million people within a 1,500 square-mile area. The transit zone consists of the District of Columbia, suburban Marylmid counties, and in Virginia, the cities of; Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church. Overall, 42 percent of those working in the center core - Washington and parts of Arlington County
- use mass transit (Interstate Compact). However, Metro did not always envelop this much area. In fact, Metro has only been in existence for less than thirty yems.
On Mmch 27, 1976; six years, three months, mid twenty-three days after groundbreaking, Metrorail had its opening day. More than 51,000 persons rode free over the 4.2 miles of Metro's Phase 1. Five stations were opened onthe Red Line from Rhode
Island Avenue to Fmragut North. On March 29, 1976, the first day of revenue service, nineteen thousand, nine hundred mid thirteen passengers rode metro on 188 trips. The system was open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and it was closed on weekends. On
June 4, 1976, President Ford signed a bill authorizing the creation of the Metro Transit
Police (Metro at a glance).
The Metro was built in a time when the District of Columbia was called the
"Murder Capital" of the United States. In 1976, the year that the Metro officially began, a law was passed banning District of Columbia residents from owning a handgun, with an
exception of members of law enforcement officers and those who had owned a registered
weapon prior to September 24, 1976 (Handgun free America). It banned the purchase,
sale, transfer, or possession of handguns by common citizens (Impact of Gun Regulation
in Washington, D.C.) Prior to the ban, homicide rates had been declining in D.C. but
increased after the ban was imposed. By 1991 D.C.'s homicide rate had risen more thmi
200 % (The Case for Repealing D.C.'s Gun Laws). After this handgun bmi went into
effect, the murder rate rose within the following five yems from 27 murders per every
100,000 people to 35 murders per every 100,000 people (District of Inequality).
Negative Crime experiences of the New York Subway sent warnings signs to the
creators of the Washington Metro. The creators knew that safety and crime prevention
planning had to be a top priority. The Washington Metro became the first of a new
generation of Metro systems with crime prevention incorporated in the construction of the Metro (Crime Prevention Guidelines for the Construction & Management of Metro
Systems).
Metro was designed and planned with a heavy emphasis on; visibility, social
control, and a pleasant atmosphere. In order to accomplish this desired ambience, metro
created spacious platforms to increase feelings of safety. They created long, straight
escalators, to avoid mezzanines where criminals might lurk. They constructed overhead
crossovers between platforms rather thmi dark frightening tunnels below the tracks. They
incorporated restful lighting designed not to cast almming shadows. They constructed
recessed platform walls and easily-cleaned surfaces for trains to discourage graffiti. They
placed CCTV on platform and at entrances to facilitate surveillmice by staff and to make passengers feel safe. They have two-way radios for all employees to summon help or be
alerted. There are attendants at platform entrances to provide assistance to passengers, to
monitor CCTV and to deter fare evaders. There are intercoms on trains and emergency
phones throughout the stations. Electronic fare cards open gates at entrances mid exits.
And there me no restrooms as they facilitate prostitution and/or drug dealing (Designing
Out Crime on Public Trmisport).
The design of the stations is very supportive of policing. Entrmices and exits me
built in a way that makes it easy for police officers to control in and out coming
passengers and (if needed) to seal off the entrances completely. The elevated walkways
make it possible for the surveillance of large parts of the station from only a few
observation points (Lopez).
The Washington D.C. Metro establishes and maintains a clear policy towards
non-felony crimes such as graffiti, vandalism, and fare evasion as well as infractions such
as eating, drinking, smoking, littering, mid loitering. To these misdemeanors they
maintain, as they call it, a "Zero Tolerance". The mched station walls me recessed from the walking spaces. They are buffered by the application of trenches and railings so that
graffiti offenders cannot reach them with their spray cans. When graffiti does occur, it is
removed as quickly as possible. Police officers patrol the stations mid approach loitering,
consuming, and littering people. Vagrants trying to sleep in the system are removed.
Local commuters violating the rules of eating, drinking, smoking, and littering are issued
a fine. Visitors get wmnings (Metro Transit Police).
There are many components of the Metro Transit Police that run daily to m^e
up the Police Department. The majority of officers are assigned either on foot or bicycle to patrol stations including platforms, mezzanines, pmking facilities, mid trains traveling between stations. Some officers are allocated to patrol by motorcycle, or in conventionally marked mobile units to respond to bus-related incidents and rail situations. There me specialty units, which include Service Response Teams, Canine
Teams for patrol. Explosive Ordinance Detection, and Civil Disturbance Teams. In addition, a detective is appointed to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Some officers are designated to dress in casual clothes and ride Metrobuses and, from time to time, to provide covert patrol at stations and abomd trains (Metro's June safety spotlight issue of the month).
In addition to these daily functions, the Metro Transit Police have several initiatives that occur daily. They include: A squad of officers called the Rail Anti- crime Tmget Squad (RATS) who me focused on the implementation of Metro's public behavior regulations. The officers' main focus is increased enforcement of littering, smoking, eating, mid drinking violations inside Metrorail stations. Additionally, fare evaders, pickpockets, and disorderly juveniles are targeted.
Metro Transit officer cmididates are trained to the standards established for police in the District of Columbia, Mmyland, and Virginia. Uniformed and plainclothes Metro
Transit Police officers patrol trains, stations, and parking lots (Metro Transit Police).
From the 1950's to the 1990's, Washington experienced the urbmi decline
associated with post-wm suburbmiization. The population of the District steadily
declined as significant out-migration occurred to the Virginia and Maryland suburbs
due to investment in highways. The Capital Beltway was completed in 1964 and
nicknamed "the road of opportunity" at its ribbon cutting (Washington, D.C). Despite the controversy between the area's highway system vs. the metro system, it is safe to say that twenty-eight years after the first line opened in 1976, the system has worked its way into the very backbone of the city and region, transforming both in the process. It's almost impossible to overstate Metro's impact. It has revitalized downtown and the closer suburbs, led to population growth within the city proper, priced out less affluent newcomers from once-sleepy suburbs and once-dying urban neighborhoods, and changed the skyline in both suburb mid city (Marshall).
Metro has had a very positive impact in the Washington, Maryland, and
Virginia area. However, Metro's success does not solely lie in any one area. Its' success consists of many components, and one of the prime factors to its success is the hmd work and dedication exhibited on a daily basis by the men and women working on the Metro Transit Police Department. They have played a vital role in the achievements and growth of the Washington Area Transit System and they continue to do so each day. Interview Transcription Interviewee/Nmrator: Daniel Hall Interviewee: Nicole White Location: Daniel Hall's home. Silver Spring, Maryland Date:December 19. 2004
Nicole White: Hello Dan
Daniel Hall: Hi, Nicole How are you?
NW: Good. How are you? This is Nicole White and I am interviewing Daniel Hall for the American Century Oral History Project. This interview took place on December 19,
2004 at 8:40 pm at the house of Dmiiel Hall in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Dan, Can you tell me a little about your childhood, growing up in Cleveland, and miy interesting stories that you might have had growing up?
DH: Well, I was bom in Cleveland, Ohio in 1948. I had two sisters, no brothers, and my cousin lived with us. And we lived in um I won't say... we lived in sort of like the middle class side of town on 101^^ Street on the East Side of Cleveland. I went to -short pause -
Empire Junior High School, I have to think back on this (smiling and laughing), and
Glenville High School.
When I graduated from Glenville High School, I went to work at the National
Cash Register Company. As a matter of fact, out of eighteen high schools mid all the seniors in all the high schools, NCR, which is the National Cash Register Company, went around the city and they gave this mechanical aptitude test to everyone in all the high schools. Actually, I was the only one to pass it. And accordingly, I was the only... I was the first black technician ever hired by the National Cash Register Company. So, that was a little plus.
I did a lot of volunteer work as a kid coming up at the YMCA and the Glenville area Community Council. But it was pretty much playing a lot basketball, swimming, and doing a whole lot of homework.
NW: Is being a police officer, is that something that you always wanted to do or was that kind of.... What was the story behind that?
DH: Actually, becoming a police officer had never crossed my mind. It was one of those things that occurred after I went into the military. As a matter of fact, I was going to be drafted. And I was drafted. I got a notice to be drafted and I went down, mid actually I was going to be drafted into the marine core during the Vietnmii time. They let us out for lunch and I went and jumped on a bus down to the other side of town and signed up for the Army instead, but I still had to leave the same day. So I went to the mmy rather than going to the Marines and after basic training I put in for office equipment repair, typewriter repair, calculator repair, programming - miything that had to do with computers. But unfortunately, they were short of Military Policemen and I ended up in
Fort Porten, Georgia in militmy police school. So, that's how I becmiie interested in the police force.
NW: What were the kinds of the things that they taught you at the Police School?
DH: Well, you know, basic things; laws of arrest, in the military - the uniform code of military justice, how to m^e arrests, how to do searches, write citations, write reports, um... The biggest thing was how to be strict in the military. In other words, shine your boots, spit on em, coming to roll call with creases down the middle of your pants, ya know, razor sharp. But all in all, it was a good experience. It taught you a lot of discipline
but it gave you a lot of pride also. Pride in yourself, pride in uniform, pride in your group.
NW: Did you come to the Washington Metropolitan Area in order to become involved
with Metro or did you move here first and then that opportunity arose?
DH: That's a funny story. I was in this area. My last duty station was in Venthill Emms
in Warrington, Virginia. While I was there, I had put in an application with one of the
inspectors here on the Police Department. I met him at a Northern Virginia Crime Clinic
meeting down at Venthill Fmms Station. I put in mi application and I never hemd
anything about it.
I had a friend of mine, a good friend of mine; he was still in the military at the time. He was getting ready to retire from the military, and I used to call him all the time, just to mess around with him and see how things were going. And he told me one day, he
said " hey you know I got a call back from the Transit Police and I have an interview on
whatever date it was" I can't recall the date. I said Ok, I'll tell you what to do. Don't
leave mid I'll be down to pick you up. At the time I was living in Pennsylvania.
So I drove down, picked him up from Venthill Farms and drove into Washington.
Because one, he didn't like driving into town so he probably wouldn't have gone into town if I hadn't of brought him in. But we got there and they had his name on the list for
an interview, and the lady looked at me and said I don't have your name. And I said well,
I want to be interviewed, I am a qualified applicmit, my application is in the palm. And that's that.
So she went in mid told the Deputy Chief like there's a crazy guy out there who
wants an interview. So he stuck his head out the door and looked at me. And of course I came prepared, with a tie and looking the part. And he said, "Interview him." They came
out and after they finished interviewing my friend, Mel Smith, they called me in for an
interview. Actually, he told them to interview me. Mel Smith was the last person to be
interviewed. And they asked me quite a few questions but I guess the big catch-all
question was to see if I knew anything about transit and about a fire that was in the
London Underground that had happened recently, around the time of the interview
which was back in 76' and I answered that plus all the other questions they asked me.
And nextthing you know.... That was my start, that's how I got hired with the Transit
Police.
NW: Prior to the construction of Metro in the DC area, were there many economic
differences from after the Metro was built? Was it majority, living in poverty? Or upper
class? Or middle class?
DH: Well, the workings of Metro had been in effect for along time. President Dwight D.
Eisenhower signed legislation to create a subway system. And you know how long ago that was. And that was even before the riots that took place in DC. And a lot of the areas
in DC got bumed down. And quite a few of the areas that were affluent; downtown along
F Street and up 7 Street and a lot of Southeast were bumed off during the riots after they
shot Mmtin Luther King.
London Underground: The London Underground is a public transport network, composed of electrified railways that run underground in tunnels in central London and above ground in the city's suburbs. The oldest metropolitan underground network in the world, first operating in 1863, the London Underground is usually referred to as either simply "the Underground" by Londoners, or (more familiarly) as "the Tube" The DC Riots took place in 1968. The riots were a response to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During the riots dozens of buildings were destroyed. Thirteen people died and thousands were injured. Civil Rights activist. Sterling Tucker, recalls the rioting, "The sky was filled with flames and smoke. And it seemed like the whole world was on fire"(CNN Interactive). One thing that the metro did once it became established and started moving into the areas, was rehabilitate the areas mid a lot of economic growth was establish
subsequent to that. Also, in the process of building, a lot of small businesses lost their
business because they had to close down the roadways down in their areas so people
didn't have access to their businesses and a lot of them went out of business. But the
good side about it was that a lot of other people's businesses, after the development of the
subway and after it opened up, started booming again.
NW: Well, I've read that there was a hesitmice on the part of the govemment to build the
subway system. In your opinion what were some of the pros and cons of beginning this
subway system?
DH: Well some of the pros and cons were; where it was going to go, how far it was
going to extend, who was going to pay for it, that was one of the bigger problems. And
since most of it was in the district, a lot of the suburb meas were wondering how much they were going to give of their money prior to the time that it was opened and extended
out to the suburbs.
One of the longest little battles of what was going to go where was the extension
of that green line that went all the way out to the end of the green line. They wanted to go to rose cross race track for a while and it was a big battle back and forth of whether it was
going to go there or how far our it would go and where it was going to stop and who was
going to fund it. It's just like right now. They want to extend to Dulles Airport mid a little
further up the 66' quarter. They are trying to figure out how to fund it, who's going to
pay for it? NW: When you initially began your work with the Metro Transit Police, approximately
how mmiy members would you say were in your department?
DH: I was in the third class of the Transit Police Department when it was in its infancy.
The first two classes that cmiie on went to the Federal Law Enforcement School, which
we called FLEXI. I was in the third class mid they decided to try something different, so
I ended up going to P.G. County Police Academy, which is Prince George's Police
Academy. (I hate for it to be called "P.G.") I guess there were, let's see.. .the first class
had about 25 [people], the second class had about 30, and there were about 14 in my
class. Actually, my class was split up.
They did two things with my class. Half of us went to the Prince George's Police
Academy for the first time, and the other half went to the Northern Virginia Police
Academy for the first time. Now, Prince George's, we made out like bandits because we
only had to go for 14 weeks. The other guys had to go for 25 weeks to the Northern
Virginia Police Academy. But they didn't attend the academy the whole time. It was like three or four weeks riding along with the police depmtment in the area and another
couple of weeks in the academy.
NW: So you guys were able to get hands-on training?
DH: They were, the ones that went through Northern Virginia. I went straight through the
academy.
NW: Has it become more or less difficult over the years to handle the crimes committed
in the Transit Zone?
DH: When we initially started, there were just minor flagrmit crimes that went on in the
subway. Ya know, the eating, drinking, smoking and we were enforcing them. And of course, way back then, the first one was "Apple Annie." A lady that was eating mi apple
and she took it to court. And each time one of the people took one of these cases to court
" why are they mresting us for eating or whatever," the person was found guilty in court
so they couldn't take it for a lawsuit.
But the first one was an apple, and the second [case] that was taken to court was a
lady that was eating a banana. And she was the secretmy of the major that was in the
White House; the mmine core major. (I can't think of his name right now). And then the third [case] was this lady who said she was locked up for eating candy down there. She
was also found guilty when she went to court, so that case went nowhere.
I will say this; I made the first felony arrest with the Transit Police. There was a
guy that robbed a jewelry store at the comer of 13 and G street Northwest. And he tried to get away down in the subway. And jumped on a subway train mid the guy that owned the jewelry store followed him mid he told me that there was a guy that just robbed a jewelry store and I used my radio mid I had them hold a train and I went down with the
guy, mid I told him "Once you see the guy, just keep walking. Don't stop and point to
him." And he didn't. He saw the guy, he pointed to him but luckily he didn't stop because the guy got on a train that was full of little kids and the guy was armed at the time. It was
an armed robbery at the jewelry store. The guy was on a bus with a bunch of school kids that were on a tour. So I had him walk back to make sure it was the guy. He positively
identified him twice. So instead of coming on the train, I went around to the other train
behind it, opened the bulkhead door quietly and then opened the other one, grabbed him
and threw him up against the glass, locked him up. Unfortunately, he didn't have the weapon with him. It turned out that he worked
with miother guy and in the process of going to court and during his trial, as a matter of
fact, the court recessed for the weekend, and he robbed another jewelry store. They
caught him again but they caught the other guy that he passed the weapon on to when they were walking by. He got eleven years for that.
NW: Now, the District of Columbia has been called the "Crime Capital of the U.S." at times, and it does have one of the highest crime rates in the United States. So, how has
Metro been able to maintain such a low crime rate in such a high crime surrounding area?
DH: One of the philosophies of one of the former chiefs of Police and the first Chief of
Police, which was chief Agnus Mclain, was "you take care of the little things and that
will take care of the big things." In other words, you put a police presence out there and
enforce the little things mid with the presence of the police out there it will prevent people
from coming into the subway and committing Imger crimes.
And taking care of the little things, of course, were the; eating, smoking, drinking,
playing radios, and transfer cases on the buses. So we saturated the subway with uniform
personnel so that people could see the police. We wmited them to see the police. Let them
know that the police were there, and were out there doing their job, and it would be a
deterrent. And it actually turned out to be a deterrent because the crime rate in the
subway is relatively low.
NW: So you have the uniform police officers. Do you have people that are just plain
clothed that go onto the subway and go onto the bus systems?
DH: Oh Yeah! There is a plainclothes squad that rides the buses. There are plainclothes
people, especially during times where we have a lot of people and there are a lot of tourists in town. There are a lot pickpockets on the subway. The Transit Police have the
most pickpocket personnel in the whole area. As a matter of fact, we train the D.C,
Montgomery County, Fairfax County, mid Federal agents on how to detect pickpockets,
find out what there motives are, how they do it, mid how to lock them up. We have
plainclothes personnel that ride buses and are strictly assigned to ride Metro Buses.
As a matter of fact, I had that unit when we first started up. I was the sergeant on that unit for seven years. And at the time, way back when, there were never miy police on the buses, prior to the Transit Police putting people on the buses. So people were
smoking marijuana, cigarettes, drinking their beer, boom boxes were blasting at the time
and it was just pmty time on the back of the bus. No one was paying to get on. They were
using transfers, hmiding them out of the window, getting on, or just walking on the back
door when the bus was stopped.
And consequently, we had to ahlih.. .1 would say... "fight" or "struggle" or
"forcibly" lock up most of the people that we came in contact with. But, after a while, the
word got out; the Transit people are for real. They're not taking any guff. Back off of the
buses. So, bus crime went down.
For a while there were a lot of pickpockets on the L lines that were going through
Connecticut Avenue. A lot of senior citizens were riding those lines. So we put
plainclothes officers out there to take care of that crime. As a matter of fact, we had one
guy that was working for me. We put him out there as a blind mmi. He had his glasses
and his cane and he had a five-dollar bill and his fme card hanging out of his pocket.
Some teenager came up and put his hand in front of his face and the guy never moved
and he did it again. He put his hand in his pocket. As he was pulling away the guy put the hmidcuffs on him right there on the bus, mid the whole bus applauded. Saying 'it's about time.'
NW: I know that when Metro first opened it only consisted of 4.2 miles of track mid now
beginning its 28 year, the system now includes approximately 103 miles of track. Can
you tell me about any of the changes that you have witnessed in the Metro System over the yems?
DH: Yeah, its grown quite a bit. The first five stations that were opened up, it was opened
up from Farraguat North to Rhode Island Avenue. With the exception of Gallery Place
because it was not ADA, which means that it didn't comply with the American Disabled
Association. In other words, the elevator wasn't working at the time. So they couldn't
open that station up. So it just went from Farragut North to Metro Center, Gallery Place
(didn't go to Gallery Place) Judicimy Square, mid Union Station mid Rhode Island
Avenue.
Ya know, it was sort of rough and crude back then. They didn't have fare
machines. Back then people came in and initially they didn't have the fare boxes on the
bus. They had made these little stands outside of the station where the station manager
sat, mid they had the same fare boxes that were on the bus there so that people could put there money into the fare box in the station as they first entered. It was fine during the
summer; in the wintertime it was cold because they weren't in any type of enclosure and
it was really cold in the stations the first couple of weeks.
But the stations have grown. I mean, after that they opened up a second segment
and a third segment and each time they extended, it was just more work. And each time they extended a line the Transit Police put a presence in the stations. In other words we would put personnel in those stations; say five... well, we put two people in every station
for at least the first two weeks. We were just creating a presence so that people would
know 'ok, they opened up a new line but the police me here.' People that hadn't seen the
police before, now they know the police are there. Just to set the tone and to keep the
crime down.
NW: So there has been a drop in the crime rate since the Metro begmi?
DH: No as a matter of fact the crime was very small. You haven't had a lot of violent
crime. In the history of Metro, you may have had maybe three or four shootings. We had
one guy that was shot and killed at a Metro Station, but he wasn't inside of the station. He
was coming into the station and it was drug related at a station in Mmyland, Addison
Road Station. But we did close that case with an arrest after a lot of homework.
We did have one guy that was stabbed on the Fourth of July one year at the
Pentagon. But he didn't die. We had another assault, assault with intent to murder, but we
haven't had that much violent crime. We have had quite a few people that have jumped in
front of trains. There have been at least 130 people since the inception, mid if you say 130 there were at least 130 persons struck by a train, it was three times the same person. One
guy jumped in front of a train at Rhode Island [station], hurt his arm. Came back a few
months later, hurt his leg, and the third time was a doozey.
NW: Out of the, you said 103?
DH: 130
NW: 130. Out of the 130, were those mostly suicide attempts or have people ever been
pushed off or have people accidentally fallen off? DH: No one was accidentally pushed off. There was an incident with one guy at Silver
Spring, a blind guy, accidentally walked between the trains. And another incident in
Boston a blind guy walked in between the trains. So no one was ever pushed in front of a train. In both these instances, they were blind to the extent that all they could see was
light and they walked in between the trains.
NW: Cmi you tell me about some of the crimes that you have witnessed in your work as
a Metro Transit policeman?
DH: Some of the crimes that/have witnessed?
NW: Or that you have been involved with.
DH: Well, like I said, the homicide. I was in charge of the criminal investigation division
at the time of the homicide. So it was my guys that closed up the homicide. We used to
have quite a few car thefts out in the parking lot. And one of my main functions as a
lieutenant back in 87' was to reduce car thefts out in the parking lot. So I put people out there in plain clothes and we did knock it down.
As a matter of fact, I got the General Mmiager's Award for reducing crime in the
pmking lots for that yem. That's one is one of the ongoing things. Car thefts in this whole
area have been on the rise. And that's one of the things with Metro, crime in the lots have
gone down because they've done quite a few different things to reduce crime. They put
people out there; they put people on worker's compensation out in blocks, as their eyes
and ears with binoculars, mid cell phones so they can call in to communications, they
have portable lifts they cmi put in the lot, so they can elevate it and see the entire lot.
They saturate the lots. And car theft on Metro lots is quite a bit lower than it is in the jurisdictions, especially out in Maryland. NW: So you have been a Metro Trmisit Policeman but in addition to that you also served
as the Deputy Chief of Police of the Metro Transit Police Department?
DH: It's all one in the smiie. I came on as mi officer. And then I made sergeant after
being there two years. You have to be there for two years to be eligible to m^e sergeant.
After I was there for two years, I made sergeant. I cmiie off the ranks as lieutenant. I was
on local patrol as a lieutenant. I made Captain while I was commmider of the Criminal
Investigation Division mid then I made Deputy Chief, where initially I was in charge of the patrol division and I had the honors of being there when they had the Million Mmi
Mmch and getting that all together. So that sort of worked. And then I was transferred to the Protective Services Bureau, which covered the revenues; the revenue protection
facility, "money train," mid protection of all Metro facilities.
NW: Over the years, how has Metro helped to improve its surrounding areas? Or if not
what has Metro done to hurt its surrounding areas?
DH: Every time Metro has extended the lines and opened to different areas, economic
growth has just prospered. Silver Spring, for example, if I can recall when the station first
opened up, I would walk up there and stand on that platform and looked around and you
could see miles around, there was nothing there. Now when you get on that platform, you
can't see anything but high rise buildings; Same with Boston; Vienna. If its not
commercial growth, its residential growth in the area. Everything has just boomed up and
blossomed around Metro as it has reached out to the suburbs mid communities. So it has
been a plus.
NW: So do you think it will be good extending it further out into the Dulles Airport area?
DH: Oh, of course. One, it will relieve a lot of traffic on the highways because in a couple of years the highway... because well, traffic is bad, it always has been bad. .. .they
are widening the lanes on the highway and made H.O.V. lanes mid it's still bad. And it
can do nothing but get worse because there is more development coming into the District
and out in the suburbs, and people are going to have to travel and if they don't have an
alternate means of getting mound other than vehicle traffic. I mean, who wants to sit in the car for three hours? So the Subway is the way to go.
NW: What do you see as the future of Metro? What me some of the things that you see
happening within the next couple of years or miything that can be improved within the
Metro system?
DH: Well, Metro is 28 yems, and in this coming June will be 29 years old. And the wear
and tem on the facilities mid the infrastructure. They need to start getting additional trains
out there because the ridership is growing. More trains, and m^e sure they maintain the
facilities and keep a high profile with the police out there to make sure the passengers me
safe.
NW: Well, is there anything else that you would like to tell me about any other
important or interesting facts about your life or how has Metro affected you or has it been
a struggle .. .or disadvantage.. .say, being an African American man going into the Metro
System?
DH: No, I will say this, I enjoyed the time I spent at Metro. I enjoyed getting up every
moming and going to work. I enjoyed my job. I liked doing my job mid I did it to the best
of my capabilities. I moved through the ranks just as anyone else did. It was one of those things where I wanted to move up the ladder mid do the best that I could and that's how I
did it. One good thing did came out of being with Metro (smiling mid looking over at his
wife) I met my wife there. Metro has been good to me. I enjoyed it and I wish it all the
best luck in the world. And in the future I hope things go in the way that they envisioned them to go. Continued ridership and maybe cut back on some of the incidents they've
had, mechanical incidents, but I'm sure they'll get that straightened out.
NW: Well, thank you very much Dan.
DH: You are quite welcome.
NW: Thank you. Interview Analysis
The primary source that has been created. An Interview of Daniel Hall; and his
Involvement in the Metro Transit Police, is extremely valuable to the knowledge and
understanding of the Washington D.C. area metro system and provides greater insight
into its effects on the socio-economic, geographical, and economic make-up of
Washington D.C. Considering that the creation ofthis Metro system took place only
within the last thirty years, there are not mmiy personal accounts of people's experiences
in working with or being affiliated with the Metro System. There are not many
documents written about the changes in the Metro system over the years. Similmly, there
are not a large number of documents written about the effect that Metro has had in its
surrounding areas, particularly in the District of Columbia. This interview trmiscript
serves a great purpose; it is the documentation of a topic that is not heavily focused on or
written about, the Washington D.C. Metro System mid how the Metro Transit Police have
played such mi integral role in the success of the Metro.
Oral History is an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one
generation to another. Contemporary oral history involves recording or transcribing
eyewitness accounts of historical events. However, oral history is a valid means for
preserving and transmitting history. Before the development of written language in a
given society, oral history served the primary memis of conveying information from one
generation to the next. The most common form ofthis transmission is through
storytelling and the recitation of epic poetry, with the stories and poems collectively
known as the oral tradition of a people (Oral History). Many of the emliest histories - the
Bible. "La Morte d'Arthur". "The Book of Kells" are written collections of these earlier oral histories. But even today - people have books, newspapers, photographs, and other
printed records of civilization - however, oral history remains a vital way to collect
history (Oral History). Oral history offers a unique view of the past. What m^es oral
history distinct is that it is a story that is being told, so people are able to bring history to
life with colorful and detailed descriptions. History is not solely based in documents,
letters or textbooks, but also in the memory of people who witnessed or lived through
events.
Oral history is considered by some historians to be an unreliable source for the
study of history. Although it provides information from first hand witnesses about
vmying events or activities, such history is subject to the vagaries of hummi perceptions
and mental recall. Most of oral history's deficiencies are attributable to human faults
(What is Oral History?). Like all historical sources, interviews contain personal biases,
but these biases may themselves constitute importmit data for the historian's
consideration. Interviewees may also be unwilling to honestly discuss mistakes or errors
made in their documentation of that history. A potentially larger problem is the inability
of some interviewees to present accurate accounts because of the limitations of human
memory. This is a special concern when recounting traumatic events or actions that took
place years before. As time increases between an experience and its recounting,
individuals tend to condense the sequence of events and omit critical actions mid judgments (What is Oral History?).
When doing oral history, it is probably more beneficial to interview various
people on one particular subject. Since any given individual may distort their account for
personal reasons, the historical documentation is considered to reside in the points of agreement of many different sources, rather than the account of simply one person.
Despite limitations of oral history, a properly conducted interview can be an extremely valuable resource and an extraordinary means of preserving the past
This oral history project attempts to preserve a little piece of a relatively recent historical period as viewed through the eyes, experiences, mid memories of people who lived during that time. Capturing their experiences and memories is invaluable. Over a period of time, memories can fade mid those feelings or emotions associated with the events can easily be lost or altered by time. The interview that I conducted discusses the life of a retired Washington Metro Policeman, Daniel Hall, and his experiences with
Metro and the changes that he has witnessed in Metro and its surrounding meas over the years. Hall was one of the first members of the Washington Area Metro Transit Police
Depmtment. He was in the third class of the Transit Police when it was in its infancy.
Hall served in the US Army for four years, where he was given militmy police training.
Later in his life, when the opportunity arose to work for the Washington Metro Transit
Police Department he joined the staff. He made the first felony arrest with the trmisit police. He received the General Manager's Award for reducing the crime in the Metro pmking lots in 1987. Furthermore, he rose through the ranks starting from a Metro policeman to retiring as the Deputy Chief of the Metro Police.
The information acquired from this interview greatly aids the understanding of how things worked in the Metro and one member's personal experiences and witnessed events in Metro mid in the District of Columbia during the time. Hall was one of the first members of the Police Department. The Police Department has done an incredible job of maintaining peace and clean facilities in the Metro. "The Washington D.C. Metro establishes and maintains a clem policy towmds
non-felony crimes such as graffiti, vandalism, and fare evasion as well as infractions
such as eating, drinking, smoking, littering, and loitering. To these misdememiors they
maintain, as they call it, a "Zero Tolerance" (White 6)." Hall tells the story of the first
series of arrests mid trials made with Metro. Hall discusses the crimes committed in
Metro in its first years; " When we initially started, there were just minor flagrant
crimes that went on in the subway. Ya know, the eating, the drinking, smoking, and
we were enforcing them. And of course, way back then, the first one was "Apple
Annie." A lady that was eating an apple, [she was arrested] sic and she took it to court.
And each time one of the people took one of these cases to court" why are they
arresting us for eating or whatever," the person was found guilty in court so they
couldn't t^e it for a lawsuit" (White 6). "The officers' main focus is increased
enforcement of littering, smoking, eating, and drinking violations inside Metrorail
stations. Additionally, fare evaders, pickpockets, and disorderly juveniles are targeted
(White 7)." ... [But] sic " I will say this, I made the first felony arrest with the Transit
Police" (White 7). Hall goes onto describe a series of events that led to the eventual
capture of mi armed man who had robbed a jewelry store.
"Negative Crime experiences of the New York Subway sent warnings signs to the creators of the Washington Metro. The creators knew that safety and crime prevention
planning had to be a top priority (White 5)." When asked how Metro has been able to
maintain such a low crime rate in such a high crime surrounding mea. Hall quotes the
first chief of police, Agnus Mclain, "you take care of the little things and that will tdce
care of the big things" (White 8). Hall explains that the Metro police is mid always has been tough on the small infractions committed in Metro, and by doing that it has acted as
a deterrent to major crime. If they are tough on little things, people in the community
know that attempting to commit a serious crime in Metro would yield extremely tough
consequences for them. Hall also discussed Metro's effect on its surrounding areas.
Hall addresses how prior to the construction of Metro, there was a series of riots
in DC in 1968. The riots were a response to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the riots, dozens of buildings were destroyed; "... A lot of the areas in DC got
bumed down. And quite a few were affluent; downtown along F Street mid up 7 street
and a lot of Southeast were bumed during the riots after they shot Martin Luther
King"(White 4). "Metro has revitalized downtown and the closer suburbs, led to
population growth within the city proper, priced out less affluent newcomers from once-
sleepy suburbs mid once-dying urban neighborhoods, and changed the skyline in both
suburb and city" (White 8). Furthermore, he goes on to speak about how Metro not only
helped to revive that area but also aided in the economic progress of all of its surrounding
areas. "One things that Metro did once it became established and started moving into the
area was rehabilitate the areas and a lot of economic growth was established subsequent to that" (White 4). " .. .If not commercial growth, its residential growth in the
area... Everything has just boomed up and blossomed around Metro as it has reached out to the suburbs and the communities " (White 13).
The information in the historical contextualization paper is vital to the
understanding of Metro and its impact on the District of Columbia and its other
surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia. The transcription also plays an equally vital
and unique role in helping people to better understand Metro and its effects from the viewpoint of someone who was a member of its very beginning stages and had a very
active role in its overall growth. The transcript is able to provide very detailed
information about the role of the Metro Transit Police. It describes its many successes but
it does not closely address any of its failures or setbacks. In addition, the transcript briefly touches upon the chmiges in the surrounding meas of Metro geographically, however it
does not go in to great depth about the socio-economic and racial changes in the
surrounding areas of Metro. I did learn a great deal about the initial stmt of Metro. It was
great to be able to hem a first hmid witness to the emly stages of Metro. It is a public
service that has had and still continues to have an enormous impact on the people of
Mmyland, Virginia, and D.C.
This whole project has chmiged my view on history completely. The majority of what I
have learned from history has been through dense textbooks that present statistics. This
project is incredible because it allows students the opportunity to bre^ away from dry
statistics and take an interactive role in learning about history. Rather than simply
reading that thousands of people died in a given war, it is incredibly moving to hem a
first hmid account of a soldier or a mother who lost a loved one in battle. For people have the ability, through memis of oral history, to t^e those endless statistics and make them
more real and more human for people to understand, and that is incredibly powerful. Audio/Video Time Index Log
1. Interviewer: Nicole White
2. Interviewee: Daniel Hall
3. Date of Interview: December 19, 2004
4. Location of Interview: The house of Daniel Hall in Silver Spring, Mmylmid
5. Recording Format: Video Cassette
6. 5 minutes - Hall reflects on how he the job opportunity to work with the Metro
police cmiie about.
10 minutes - Hall discusses the pros and cons of the govemment for the initial
construction of the Metro Trmisit Police.
15 minutes - Hall discusses his role in making the first felony arrest with the
Metro Transit Police, down in the Subway of nem 13 and G street NW.
20 minutes - Hall discusses the problem of pickpockets on the subway and on the
Metrobus system. And how he helped to crack down on the problem of
pickpockets onthe L lines, where a large number of senior citizens rode.
25 minutes - Hall talks about how the crime rate of the Metro system has always
been very small. He talks about some of the more serious crimes that were
committed in the Transit Zone. 30 minutes - Hall talks about how he rose through the ranks at the Transit Police,
holding various titles and positions.
35 minutes - Hall discuss the impact that Metro has had in its surrounding
communities.
40 minutes - Hall talks about what he sees as the future of Metro, mid some of the chmiges that need to be made in order to ensure that Metro continues to run
smoothly.
45 minutes - Hall closes the interview by reflecting back on the good times that
he has had while a member of the Transit Police, and the phenomenal impact that
Metro has had on him. Works Consulted
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