DC ends neighborhood checkpoint program, won’t appeal court ruling finding it unconstitutional

DC ends neighborhood checkpoints, appeal of ruling

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has decided not to appeal a court ruling that found its police checkpoints in a high-crime neighborhood were unconstitutional.

In a court filing Monday, D.C. Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said Police Chief Cathy Lanier has canceled the special order authorizing the Neighborhood Safety Zone program.

Last year, police stopped cars in the Trinidad neighborhood, refusing to let in motorists who didn’t prove they lived in the area or reveal their destinations. A civil liberties group sued on behalf of three drivers.

A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court found the program was unconstitutional and the full appeals court declined to grant a hearing on the case. The city’s only option would have been appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.