Judge Finds Probable Cause in Case of Assault on 2 Police Officers

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 18, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge ruled that there was probable cause in a case of an armed assault on two police officers.

On May 27, the owner of a parking lot on the 600 block of T Street, NW, flagged down a Metropolitan Police Department officer. The man told the officer that a woman, later identified as Rayneka Williamson, was trespassing on his property, according to court documents.

The officer attempted to tell Williamson to leave the scene.

When she refused, the officer stepped away to ask the parking lot owner for his ownership papers. Court documents said the officer said Williamson began “aggressively approaching” and ignored his commands to stand back.

The officer tried to place Williamson in handcuffs and, somehow, she ended up on the ground, according to counsel. She then kicked the officer and another officer who responded to the scene.

Williamson bit and kicked both officers multiple times.

The officer later found out that Williamson was infected with syphilis and herpes at the time of the incident.

The prosecutor only called one witness, a third officer who had arrived to find the defendant already on the ground. The witness defended the actions of the officers involved in the incident. 

Judge Judith Pipe said that, while the witness did not recall every detail of the incident, her account sufficiently established probable cause. She also held up a previous decision to hold Williamson in preventive detention without bail in order to ensure the community’s safety.

“What is particularly concerning is [the weapon] is not something that we could order her not to be in possession of,” Judge Pipe said.

Williamson’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6.