In D.C., a special police officer is a security guard who has permission to act like a police officer, but only in the area they’re hired to protect.
WASHINGTON — A special police officer working at a grocery store in Northwest D.C. was arrested Tuesday for assaulting a coworker.
The officer, identified as Raeford Bush, 49, was working at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday at a grocery store in the 1800 block of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest. According to D.C. Police, Bush got into an argument with someone else working at the grocery store, who said he was being combative with customers. He pulled out his issued gun and pointed it at the coworker, police say.
Bush’s coworker walked away after that, but later in the shift, police said Bush continually made unwanted contact with the employee. An incident report says that Bush kept pretending to pull out the gun from the holster again throughout the shift and later allegedly placed his hands around the employees neck, without actually strangling them. The employee was not injured and reported it to police.
Three days later, Bush was charged with simple assault and assault with a dangerous weapon (gun).
In D.C., a special police officer refers to privately commissioned security officer who is certified to act as a police officer, but only within the confines of their contracted property. Special police officers can arrest people while in their jurisdiction and can carry police-issued firearms, though the D.C. Police website says they typically leave their weapons at work, as they are not considered officers outside of work.
On the 1800 block of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, the only grocery store is a Safeway. Police did not specify in which grocery store the assault took place.