A neighbor passed along a photo of the Walmart on Riggs Road NE with barriers in front the building and boarded up windows. The store remains open. Some businesses have started boarding up in anticipation of potential protests leading up to and following Election Day. I happened to drive downtown yesterday to pick up some items from my office and noticed businesses downtown boarding up. The Parks Main Street communicated that District officials are not presently recommending that businesses board up but are recommending that businesses make sure their insurance is up-to-date and that employees know what to do in case of emergencies.

In addition, there have been two straight nights of protests a couple of miles from the neighborhood on Kennedy Street NW and near DC police Fourth District headquarters on Georgia Avenue NW following the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton. The police department’s initial statement of Mr. Hylton’s death stated Fourth District officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop of the young man on Friday, October 23, after observing him riding a moped on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Kennedy Street NW without a helmet. The statement went on to say he fled on the moped, drove through an alley, and collided with a passenger vehicle upon exiting the alley. Witnesses dispute this police account, contending that police pursued Mr. Hylton in contravention of a no-pursuit policy for traffic infractions. Camera footage of the interaction could possibly be released today.