FILE - A Washington Metropolitan Police officer, puts yellow tape around the Potomac Avenue Metro Station in Southeast Washington, Feb. 1, 2023. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser's government has been struggling to handle steadily rising violent crime rates in recent years. Although police and city officials point out that overall crime rates have stayed steady, murders and carjackings have spiked — stoking public anxiety. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency in response to the rise in youth violence and opioid overdoses. Opioid deaths are prevalent among Black men and residents in the city’s east and southeast wards.
The emergency declaration, which takes immediate effect, improves internal data-sharing between city agencies, enabling teams to respond more effectively and track non-fatal overdose information.
FILE – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference about the arrest of a suspect in a recent string of attacks on homeless people, March 15, 2022, in Washington. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser’s government has been struggling to handle steadily rising violent crime rates in recent years. Although police and city officials point out that overall crime rates have stayed steady, murders and carjackings have spiked — stoking public anxiety. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug, is similar to morphine and heroin but is 50 to 100 times more potent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The mayor’s office said in a statement, “Although each of these urgent situations are, to some extent, geographically concentrated, the nature of the two emergencies demands city-wide responses.”
Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC.
