title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: An error therefore occurs if formula_59, formula_61 or any of the formula_68 occur. By the law of large numbers, formula_69 goes to zero as n approaches infinity, and by the joint Asymptotic Equipartition Property the same applies to formula_70. Therefore, for a sufficiently large formula_39, both formula_69 and formula_70 are each less than formula_74. Since formula_56 and formula_76 are independent for formula_65, we have that formula_56 and formula_58 are also independent. Therefore, by the joint AEP, formula_80. This allows us to calculate formula_81, the probability of error as follows:


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: Therefore, as "n" approaches infinity, formula_81 goes to zero and formula_84. Therefore, there is a code of rate R arbitrarily close to the capacity derived earlier.


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: Suppose that the power constraint is satisfied for a codebook, and further suppose that the messages follow a uniform distribution. Let formula_86 be the input messages and formula_87 the output messages. Thus the information flows as:


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: Where the sum is over all input messages formula_96. formula_4 and formula_5 are independent, thus the expectation of the power of formula_1 is, for noise level formula_7:


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: Because each codeword individually satisfies the power constraint, the average also satisfies the power constraint. Therefore,


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: Therefore, it must be that formula_109. Therefore, R must be less than a value arbitrarily close to the capacity derived earlier, as formula_90.


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: In serial data communications, the AWGN mathematical model is used to model the timing error caused by random jitter (RJ).


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: The graph to the right shows an example of timing errors associated with AWGN. The variable Δ"t" represents the uncertainty in the zero crossing. As the amplitude of the AWGN is increased, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases. This results in increased uncertainty Δ"t".


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: When affected by AWGN, the average number of either positive-going or negative-going zero crossings per second at the output of a narrow bandpass filter when the input is a sine wave is


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: In modern communication systems, bandlimited AWGN cannot be ignored. When modeling bandlimited AWGN in the phasor domain, statistical analysis reveals that the amplitudes of the real and imaginary contributions are independent variables which follow the Gaussian distribution model. When combined, the resultant phasor's magnitude is a Rayleigh-distributed random variable, while the phase is uniformly distributed from 0 to 2π.


title: Additive white Gaussian noise

text: The graph to the right shows an example of how bandlimited AWGN can affect a coherent carrier signal. The instantaneous response of the noise vector cannot be precisely predicted, however, its time-averaged response can be statistically predicted. As shown in the graph, we confidently predict that the noise phasor will reside about 38% of the time inside the 1σ circle, about 86% of the time inside the 2σ circle, and about 98% of the time inside the 3σ circle.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: New York-New York Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International, and is designed to evoke New York City in its architecture and other aspects. The design features downsized replicas of numerous city landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty. The hotel tower represents various skyscrapers. Its tallest structure is a replica of the Empire State Building, standing at 47 stories and 529 feet. This made New York-New York the tallest building in Nevada until the completion of Wynn Las Vegas in 2005. The property includes the Big Apple Coaster, which travels around the hotel tower. The casino is , and the hotel contains 2,024 rooms.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Construction began in March 1995, and the resort was built at a cost of $460 million. It opened on January 3, 1997, as a joint venture between MGM and Primadonna Resorts. MGM bought out the latter's ownership stake in 1999. After the September 11 attacks, a spontaneous memorial site emerged in front of the resort's Statue of Liberty. An official memorial was added in 2003, but was demolished 10 years later when the resort's façade was remodeled. A Hershey's Chocolate World was added in 2014, as part of the remodel. The resort has hosted various entertainers and shows, including comedian Rita Rudner, who performed there from 2001 to 2006; and the show "Zumanity", which ran from 2003 to 2020.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The 18-acre site at the northwest corner of the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection had been considered a prime spot for development due to its proximity to the MGM Grand, Excalibur, and Tropicana. Japanese firm Universal Distributing owned the property, and had discussed a joint venture with the Promus Companies to build a hotel-casino, but could not reach an agreement. In 1992, Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation bought the site for $31.5 million and offered MGM Grand Inc., of which Kerkorian owned 76%, a free two-year option to buy it.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The idea of a casino modeled after the New York skyline was conceived by Sig Rogich (a former White House staffer and United States Ambassador to Iceland) and Mark Advent. Rogich brought the idea to his friend, Gary Primm, head of Primadonna Resorts. Primm approached MGM president Bob Maxey in 1994 with the idea for MGM's prime Strip location, and a joint venture was formed between the two companies. Construction began on March 30, 1995. The site had been partially occupied by the Lone Palm Motel and a Rodeway Inn.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The resort was scheduled to open on December 15, 1996, but this was pushed back nearly three weeks. Requests for pre-opening tours, made by media outlets and financial analysts, were rejected to maintain secrecy up until the resort's debut. Completed at a cost of $460 million, New York-New York opened on January 3, 1997, at 12:30 a.m. A pre-opening celebration occurred the night before, with a fireworks show and 3,000 invited guests that included rival casino executives and celebrities.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The resort's restaurants and room service were overseen by subcontractor ARK Restaurants Corporation, which employed non-union workers. In 1997, employees pushed for unionization with the Culinary Workers Union. ARK was against unionization and fought against allegations for the next six years that it had violated the National Labor Relations Act, ultimately losing in court.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: In 1998, the Frank Sinatra album "Lucky Numbers" was put on sale exclusively at New York-New York, before receiving a wider release later that year. It includes the song "Theme from New York, New York".


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Since the initiation of New York-New York, analysts had speculated that MGM Grand or Primadonna would buy out the other's interest in the project. Instead of making such a cash-intensive purchase, however, MGM agreed to buy Primadonna outright for $276 million in stock plus $336 million in assumed debt. The merger closed in March 1999, giving MGM full control of New York-New York.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven" was to include a scene of New York-New York being imploded, but this was removed following the September 11 attacks. After the attacks, people spontaneously sent various tributes to New York-New York, especially T-shirts from police, fire and rescue departments around the country. These were displayed along the fence in front of the "Lady Liberty" replica. Other items included flowers and candles. Within a few days of the attacks, the spontaneous memorial site contained thousands of items. The twin towers of the original World Trade Center have never been included in the hotel's skyscraper façade, which is meant to represent New York City in the 1940s. The World Trade Center was built in the 1970s. The towers were also considered too tall to be included.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: An official September 11 memorial was unveiled at the site in 2003, featuring display boxes for various items. Some items, including approximately 4,000 T-shirts, were archived at Lied Library, part of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). New York-New York planned to rotate items from the collection to be displayed at the resort. Future items left at the resort would be donated to UNLV for archiving. The memorial site was created by Marnell Corrao Associates, which took inspiration from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The memorial was demolished in 2013, as MGM began a remodel of the property's façade along Las Vegas Boulevard. A commemorative plaque was built at the former memorial site, while the items remain in storage at UNLV as of 2021. The collection contains nearly 6,000 items, most of them T-shirts.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Ownership of New York-New York, along with many other MGM properties, was transferred to MGM Growth Properties in 2016, while MGM Resorts continued to operate it under a lease agreement. Vici Properties acquired MGM Growth, including New York-New York, in 2022.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: In August 2022, New York-New York announced plans for a $63 million room remodel project that will see its 1,830 rooms and 155 of its suites completely renovated by the summer of 2023.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: On July 6, 2007, gunman Steven Zegrean opened fire inside the casino shortly after midnight, wounding four people before bystanders subdued him. Zegrean had been depressed over two failed marriages and financial problems, and intended to commit suicide by cop. He faced 52 charges, although 16 would eventually be dismissed. In 2009, he was found guilty and sentenced to 26 to 90 years in prison. He died of a heart attack the following year. One of the victims filed a lawsuit against the resort and MGM, alleging inadequate security.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The Statue of Liberty Forever stamp, issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2010, was intended to show the actual Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, but instead shows the replica at New York-New York. This is due to an error by the stamp designers, who incorrectly chose a stock photo of the replica instead of the original and did not recognize the difference. Even after the error was recognized, the Postal Service continued producing the stamp. A Postal Service spokesman said the service “would have selected this photograph anyway", citing its popularity and the service's desire to produce a stamp that appeared different from previous stamps depicting the Statue of Liberty.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Robert Davidson, the sculptor of the Las Vegas statue, sued the Postal Service in 2013 for copyright infringement. His lawyers pointed out that the replica is a distinct piece of art, with intentional variations from the original Statue of Liberty. In July 2018, a judge ordered the Postal Service to pay Davidson $3.5 million.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The resort's exterior was designed by Neal Gaskin and Ilia Bezansky, who closely studied travel books and architectural drawings rather than visit New York City. However, the design firm Yates-Silverman Inc. did send a team to the city to study its skyline for eight weeks.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The hotel is contained in a single building, although its exterior is designed to represent various New York skyscrapers joined together. The buildings are roughly one-third the size of their real-life counterparts. The tallest building is a 47-story, replica of the Empire State Building. This made New York-New York the tallest building in Nevada until the completion of Wynn Las Vegas in 2005; by comparison, the real Empire State Building is 102 stories tall.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Other buildings depicted in the hotel's skyline include the Chrysler Building, the Manhattan Municipal Building, the New Yorker Hotel, and The Century. The interior differs throughout the hotel to reflect the design of four skyscrapers: the Empire State, Chrysler, Century, and New Yorker Hotel buildings. The other skyscrapers depicted in the skyline are not represented within the interior. Although the skyline is meant to represent New York City during the 1940s, it does include several buildings completed after that period, such as Lever House (1952), the Seagram Building (1958), the CBS Building (1965), 55 Water Street (1972), and 550 Madison Avenue (1984).


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The exterior features a replica of the Statue of Liberty, situated at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. A lagoon of fireboats sits at the base of the statue. The exterior also features an enlarged replica of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument; the Main Immigration Building on Ellis Island; and Grand Central Terminal. A replica of the Brooklyn Bridge runs along the property's façade on Las Vegas Boulevard.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: New York-New York had been the only Strip resort without a roadside sign. Resort president Felix Rappaport said "the building has always been its own marquee". A $10 million sign, rising , was eventually added in 2003. A 30-foot-long neon sign, located above the resort's Strip entrance, was dismantled in 2014, amid renovations. It was donated to the city's Neon Museum.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The interior was designed by Yates-Silverman Inc. The casino is meant to resemble various areas of New York, including Broadway, Central Park, Greenwich Village, Times Square, and Wall Street.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The central area of the casino floor was named Central Park and featured lamps, fake trees, and a large façade depicting the New York Stock Exchange Building. A high roller gaming area was designed to resemble the Rockefeller Center promenade. Cobblestone pathways lead past various eateries and retail shops with mock building façades. A food court, designed with architect Hugh Hardy as a consultant, was created to resemble Little Italy, Manhattan.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: In the late 1990s, New York-New York won various accolades from the "Las Vegas Review-Journal" in its annual "Best of Las Vegas" awards. These included best Strip hotel and best hotel architecture (1997), best Las Vegas Architecture (1998), and coolest building in Las Vegas and best hotel theme (1999). It also won a Thea award in 1998 for Outstanding Achievement.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Paul Goldberger of "The New York Times" wrote, "On one level, this is the most ridiculous building imaginable, a cynical slap in the face at the notion that time and history carry some weight in the experience of place. On another level, it is an earnest, eager celebration of a world far away from Las Vegas, and it couldn't be more entertaining". Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff, writing for the "Los Angeles Times", called New York-New York a "freakish apparition".


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The property's design led to several lawsuits. In 1996, the architecture firm Domingo Cambeiro sued Rogich, Advent and others affiliated with the project, claiming to have drawn up design plans for a mall project in 1993, known as New York CityCenter. The firm alleged similarities between the initial project and the final design of the resort, and said it was never compensated for its work. In 1998, a federal judge ruled against the firm, which subsequently filed a state lawsuit against Advent, alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Domingo Cambeiro filed a third lawsuit later in 1998, to which Advent said, "Cambeiro has harassed me for several years with civil actions in an attempt to win a case that has no merit. Desperate people do desperate things".


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: After the resort's opening, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed a lawsuit over the use of the stylized interior façade depicting its NYSE Building. The NYSE also objected to the name of the casino's slot club, "New York $lot Exchange", as well as signs reading "NY$E" and "New York, New York Stock Exchange". The NYSE was concerned that its reputation would be damaged by the resort, stating that the NYSE façade and $lot Exchange "have the likelihood of deceiving or confusing the public ... and bastardizing the NYSE marks by making them subject to ridicule". A lawyer for the resort responded that, "New York-New York is full of parody and parody is protected speech". A court ruled in the resort's favor, although the NYSE appealed the decision. New York-New York eventually retired the "$lot Exchange" name.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Shortly after the opening, the United States Department of Justice found various areas of the resort – including the entrance, hotel rooms, and pedestrian bridges – to be non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. MGM subsequently sued 14 contractors and subcontractors over the faulty work.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: New York-New York includes a casino. At its opening, the casino measured , and had 2,400 slot machines and 71 table games. The hotel contains 2,024 rooms. When the resort opened, it featured a second-floor, video game arcade which also included bumper cars and laser tag.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The property also included a cigar lounge known as Hamilton's, named after actor George Hamilton, majority owner of the lounge. Hamilton's provided a view overlooking the casino floor, and included a retail shop and a private back room known as the Club Car, resembling an upscale rail car. Hamilton's had capacity for 175 people, while the Club Car could hold an additional 30. The lounge closed in January 2000, amid poor business. The trend of cigar bars had died off, and the closure of the resort's wedding chapel was also cited, as Hamilton's typically hosted wedding receptions.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: A renovation in 1999 added more meeting space and a restaurant, as well as upgrades for more than 300 rooms. A computerized valet parking system was implemented in 2001, to reduce wait times.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: New York-New York opened with four restaurants and a food court. Several of the same dining establishments were still in operation as of 2016. Among the original restaurants is Il Fornaio, an Italian eatery; and Chin Chin, an Asian restaurant. Both are part of California-based restaurant chains. Another original restaurant is Gallagher's Steak House. Unlike most casinos, New York-New York lacks a buffet.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The Motown Cafe and Nightclub opened along with the resort, before closing in 2000. It was replaced a year later by an ESPN Zone. The casino also opened a Coyote Ugly Saloon later in 2001. Both were added to reinvigorate the resort, which had lost some business to newer properties such as Mandalay Bay and Paris Las Vegas. An Irish pub and restaurant, Nine Fine Irishman, opened in July 2003. It was the only Irish pub on the Strip.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: A nightclub, known as Rok Vegas, opened in August 2008. It consisted of an oval-shaped space with an overhead television screen which wrapped around the room for 360-degree views. It could be used to show a variety of footage, such as concerts. The club played various types of music to attract a broad demographic. It had seating for 880 people. It featured a stage for performers, and also included an outdoor patio along the Las Vegas Strip, where DJ parties would take place. The club closed in 2012.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The ESPN Zone closed in 2010, and was replaced later that year by the Sporting House Bar and Grill. Like its predecessor, it was also focused on sports. The two-floor Sporting House included more than 130 televisions for sports viewing. It also had an arcade with 60 games. It closed in 2014. Shake Shack opened its first Las Vegas location at New York-New York later that year. A Tom's Urban restaurant with three bars was added in 2015. Both restaurants took the space formerly occupied by the Sporting House.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The 2013-14 façade renovation included the addition of a two-story Hershey's Chocolate World, which serves as the flagship store.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The Big Apple Coaster (formerly Manhattan Express and The Roller Coaster) travels through the property's interior and exterior along a track. The coaster is high, has a maximum drop of , and reaches speeds up to . The ride has undergone a variety of enhancements including the introduction of a magnetic braking system and new trains. The roller coaster has trains that resemble a traditional Checker Cab.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: The roller coaster opened along with the resort, as the Manhattan Express. Built by TOGO, it was one of only two roller coasters in the world to feature a heartline roll and dive.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: "MADhattan", a $7.5 million show featuring street performers from New York City, was launched in June 1997. The show was produced by Kenneth Feld, who conceived it three years earlier. The show was reworked from a prior, short-lived revue in New York known as "Street Songs". Singers and dancers were among the performers in "MADhattan", and the sets were designed to portray areas of New York City. Initial ticket sales were poor, which prompted a fine-tuning of the show and a new advertising campaign. The show closed in May 1998, due to poor box-office results. It was replaced by "Lord of the Dance", an Irish stepdancing show. It opened in July 1998, and ran for four years and 2,000 performances.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: Comedian Rita Rudner began performing at the resort in April 2001, in a new venue dubbed the Cabaret Theatre. It was renovated in 2004, adding raked movie theater-style seating. Rudner concluded her show in 2006, selling out more than 600,000 tickets and grossing $35 million over the course of her run.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: "Zumanity", an adult-themed show by Cirque du Soleil, debuted at New York-New York in 2003, replacing "Lord of the Dance". "Zumanity" was the third show from Cirque du Soleil to take up permanent residence in the Las Vegas Valley. It was the first Cirque show to be directed primarily toward adult audiences. It was the only permanent Cirque show to allow admission only to those over 18 years of age. The theater was arranged as a cabaret, with sofas and bar stools complementing the standard theater seats. "Zumanity" became a long-running success, hosting more than 7,700 performances. The final performance took place on March 14, 2020, with the show closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that year, Cirque du Soleil announced that the closure would be permanent.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: In 2012, producer David King leased the former space of Rok Vegas and opened it as the Broadway Theater, a 200-seat venue for several shows produced by him. Among them was "Dancing Queen", which featured songs by ABBA. The show closed in July 2013, along with the Broadway Theater, which was demolished as part of the resort's façade renovation.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: For a brief period in 2021, ventriloquist Terry Fator entertained in the former "Zumanity" theater. Later that year, he relocated his show to the resort's Liberty Loft, an event space overlooking the sportsbook.


title: New York-New York Hotel and Casino

text: "Mad Apple", a new show by Cirque du Soleil, opened on May 26, 2022. It features a variety of performers, including singers and comedians. It is hosted in the former "Zumanity" theater, which seats 1,200 people.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended "24/7", as in any time, anywhere, as long as a referee is there to confirm the win. Because of this rule, not only is the championship winnable regardless of gender or number of individuals (in case of a common pinfall or submission), it is also available to "unconventional" champions such as animals or inanimate objects, with title changes regularly occurring outside of regular shows, often with videos posted on the promotion's social media accounts. The current champion is Saki Akai who is in her 23nd reign.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: The championship was introduced on the June 29, 2000 TV taping, during which Poison Sawada Black created the title and awarded it to himself. It was created as a parody of the defunct WWE Hardcore Championship, which also had a "24/7 rule". The title is often defended during a 10-minute battle royal, with the current holder not being allowed to leave the match until the end of the time limit; as per 24/7 rules, the championship can change hands during, and not only as the result, of the match. Unlike its name and similarly titled championships, it is not specific to Iron Man matches.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: On November 2, 1998, Mr. McMahon awarded Mankind the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Hardcore Championship. As Mankind and hardcore wrestling became more popular with audiences, the Hardcore Championship became a more serious title. Its popularity led competitor World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to create its own Hardcore Championship, a move followed by numerous independent promotions. When Crash Holly won the belt on February 22, 2000, he introduced the "24/7 rule" that the belt was to be defended at all times as long as a referee was present.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: On June 29, 2000, Poison Julie Sawada introduced the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship in DDT as a parody of the WWF Hardcore title and recognized himself as the first champion. Minutes after the unveiling, Mitsunobu Kikuzawa demanded he had a look at the title belt. He then used it to attack Sawada and pinned him to become the second champion.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: The 1,000th Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion was crowned on April 29, 2014, when the title belt itself became the champion by pinning Sanshiro Takagi.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: The championship belt design features three glittery silver plates on a black leather strap which has a snake skin pattern on the back. The central plate features brass knuckles surrounded by chains in the center. The word "IRONMAN" is written along the edge of the top half and the word "CHAMPION", though partially erased by years of wear and tear, is written along the bottom edge. The two side plates, on either side of the central plate, are rectangular and identically state "24 HOURS" ("24" in silver bordered with black; "HOURS" in red).


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: , there have been 1,558 officially recognized reigns between 393 different human individuals, 7 teams and 44 inanimate objects and animals. The record for most reigns is held by Shinobu, who won it 216 times, including by trading the title back-and-forth with 215-time champion Yuko Miyamoto a total of 303 times on the same night. Danshoku Dino holds the record for longest combined reign with at least 448 days and counting (the exact date of when he won his tenth title is uncertain). Masa Takanashi's sixth reign is the longest singular reign at 333 days. Only 147 individuals have held the title for longer than a day. The title has occasionally been won by unusual means, such as an auction for the belt, rock–paper–scissors, and even a title change that occurred in a dream.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: Non-wrestlers to have held the title include AV idol Nao Saejima, TV personality LiLiCo, J-pop idols Akari Suda, Kaori Matsumura, Yuki Arai, Rise Shiokawa, Aika Sawaguchi, Misaki Natsumi, Momomi Wagatsuma and Lingling, Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblyman Shinichiro Kawamatsu, a cat named Bunny, a monkey, a three-time champion ladder, Vince McMahon's Hollywood Walk of Fame star, a copy of The Young Bucks' autobiography "Killing the Business", and the title belt itself.


title: Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship

text: As of November 2022, there have been over 1,500 title changes for the belt, which has been won by numerous male and female wrestlers and non-wrestlers, including children, animals, entire audiences and inanimate objects.


The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbia, in the United States. With approximately 3,400 officers and 600 civilian staff, it is the sixth-largest municipal police department in the United States. The department serves an area of and a population of over 700,000 people. Established on August 6, 1861, the MPD is one of the oldest police departments in the United States. The MPD headquarters is at the Henry J. Daly Building, located on Indiana Avenue in Judiciary Square across the street from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The department's mission is to "safeguard the District of Columbia and protect its residents and visitors with the highest regard for the sanctity of human life". The MPD's regulations are compiled in title 5, chapter 1 of the District of Columbia Code.


title: Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

text: The MPD has a broad array of specialized services, including the Emergency Response Team, K9, harbor patrol, air support, explosive ordnance division, homeland security, criminal intelligence, narcotics, and the gun recovery unit. The MPD also operates the Command Information Center (CIC) which monitors hundreds of cameras across the city, license plate readers, ShotSpotter and many other intelligence and surveillance devices.


text: The MPD has a unique role in that it serves as a local police department, with county, state and federal responsibilities, and is under a municipal government but operates under federal authority. They are responsible for operating the district's sex offender registry, approving all applications for motorcades, protests, demonstrations and other public events, and maintain the district's firearm registry.


text: While the MPD is the primary law enforcement agency in the city, it shares its jurisdiction with the Transit Police, responsible for policing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail and Metrobus systems; the United States Park Police, which provides law enforcement for the National Mall and all other National Park Service properties; the United States Marshals Service, which acts as the city's sheriff; and many other federal agencies. However, the MPD ultimately remains the primary agency in the city and has the authority to investigate all crimes in the city regardless of the location it took place.


text: Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, whenever the President of the United States determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the Metropolitan Police for federal purposes, the president may direct the mayor to provide, and the mayor shall provide, such services of the Metropolitan Police force for up to 48 hours. During longer periods of time, the president must provide to Congress in writing his or her reasons for continuing control of the MPD. This control can be extended at any time beyond 30 days if either the emergency continues or if Congress passes a law ordering it. During this nature of emergency, the MPD is considered a federal law enforcement agency.


text: As the American Civil War raged on, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln took a personal interest in the formation of a regular police force for the U.S. capital. Washington had quickly filled with soldiers, government employees, and citizens hoping to cash in on the war. The crowds, crime, and the constant threat of enemy spies, had made the capital into a rowdy city barely under control. After the formation of the Metropolitan Police and its governing Board of Commissioners by Act of Congress, signed into law by Lincoln on August 6, 1861, Lincoln dispatched a member of the board to study the New York City Police Department and its structure.


text: The Metropolitan Police replaced previous law enforcement organizations. Before the formation of the district in 1801, county constables had jurisdiction over the area, along with the comparatively developed police force for the City of Alexandria. Within the City of Washington, the first police superintendent was named in 1803, and the city divided into four policing wards, each under a constable, in 1804. Yet another force, the 16-member Auxiliary Guard of the City of Washington, was established by Act of Congress in August 1842, purportedly because President John Tyler had been burned in effigy, and had rocks thrown at him on the White House grounds. The formation of the Metropolitan Police dissolved all these previous authorities. (The Militia of the District of Columbia was created in the Assumption Act of May 3, 1802, active as peacekeepers within the district but tasked with defending the federal government, and commanded directly by the president as a military force, not law enforcement.)


text: The Metropolitan Police Board unanimously chose one of its members, William Benning Webb, who was commissioned as a major in the army, to serve as the first chief of police, the formal title being "Major and Superintendent". The Police Board initially divided the district into 10 precincts. The First Precinct constituted the portion of Washington County east of the Anacostia River, while the Second Precinct included the county territory north of Washington City and between the Anacostia and Rock Creek. The Third Precinct comprised the remainder of Washington County west of Rock Creek, including Georgetown and the island of Analostan in the Potomac River. The Fourth through Tenth precincts corresponded respectively with the First through Seventh wards of Washington City. Beginning immediately, Superintendent Webb worked to organize the department which had an authorized strength of ten sergeants and as many patrolmen as needed, though not to exceed 150. The majority of the new department was hired by September, with the superintendent of police salaried annually at $1,500, sergeants received $600, and patrolmen were paid $480. The officers worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week with no holidays or vacation time. At first officers were issued no uniform or badges and had to purchase their own firearms. The U.S. Capitol building was chosen as the back drop of the MPD badge a month later and today's badge has changed little from the original. The first arrest by an MPD officer was for public intoxication.


text: At the urging of U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia Ward Lamon and United States Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, President Lincoln agreed in November 1864 to have bodyguards, although he felt that the president of the United States should not have found it necessary to have guards at all. Superintendent Webb had four MPD officers assigned the task of guarding the White House grounds and accompanying the president on his walks through the city. However, Lincoln did not want this fact made public, and the officer's orders were not made official, and they wore plainclothes with their revolvers concealed. One of the officers, William H. Crook, the most well known of Lincoln's original guards, would go on to serve under five other administrations and wrote down his recollections in a book, "Through Five Administrations". He became close to Lincoln and accompanied him to Richmond, Virginia, at Lincoln's request after the city was captured. Two officers would begin their shift at 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. They were then relieved by an officer who stay until midnight and was then himself relieved at 8 the next morning.


text: In December 1864, A. C. Richards became Major and Superintendent, a post he would hold through the next 14 years. Richards was present at Ford's Theater the night the Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. In one of the lowest points of the MPD's history, the police officer who was to guard Lincoln that night, John Frederick Parker, had left his post at the door to Lincoln's box, presumably to get a drink at the bar across the street. Officer Crook, who had been on duty that day and had been relieved by Parker who was several hours late for his shift, would place blame in his book on Parker for Lincoln's death.


text: After Booth had fled the theater, Major Richards began organizing the activities for investigation until it was taken over by Secretary Stanton. In the hours immediately after the assassination, MPD officers enforced closures of all places of entertainment and helped seal off the city. They patrolled the streets on horses alongside members of the Military Provost. That night on April 14, 1865, an MPD detective entered into the daily blotter: "At this hour the melancholy intelligence of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln President of the U.S. at Fords Theatre was brought to this office and the information obtained ... goes to show that the assassin is a man named J. Wilks Boothe." It remains the most famous entry in the MPD's records. A tip provided to MPD detectives indicated that the Surratt boarding house at 614 H Street was linked to the assassination. The tip would lead to the eventual trial and execution of Booth's conspirators.


text: In 1871, the first MPD officer was killed in the line of duty. On Friday, December 29, 1871, Officer Francis M. Doyle and several other officers attempted to gain entry to the house of a thief to recover stolen property. When they forced the door, the wife of the suspected thief fired at them, striking Doyle in the chest and killing him instantly. Although the wife was arrested and tried for the murder, she was acquitted. Officer Doyle was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the US Navy, and had been with the MPD for five years. He was 38 years old at the time of his death and was survived by his wife and three children. He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery.


text: The MPD is only police department that has arrested a sitting U.S. president. During his presidency, Ulysses S. Grant was known to speed in his horse and buggy on Washington's streets. The MPD had issued him three different citations for this offense. On the fourth occasion, Grant was arrested on M Street for racing, and his horse and buggy were confiscated. When brought to the station however, the officers became unsure if a sitting president could be formally charged if he had not been impeached. Grant was allowed to pay a fine but had to walk back to the White House. In 1878, Congress abolished the Metropolitan Police Board, and its duties were taken over by the newly formed DC Board of Commissioners, established by Congress to govern the entire district. That year as well, Thomas P. Morgan was named to replace Richards, who had resigned, as Major and Superintendent. Although a police fund had been established during the MPD's first year to assist those officers injured in the line of duty, Morgan would add to this by establishing a retirement fund for older officers who could no longer perform their duties.


text: On July 2, 1881, the MPD took part in investigating the assassination of President James A. Garfield. The assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, approached Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station and fired his weapon twice, hitting Garfield. Although Garfield had no bodyguards, MPD Officer Patrick Kearney had been nearby and arrested Guiteau before he could leave the station. Kearney took Guiteau a few blocks away to the station to be booked where the small pistol that Guiteau had used was discovered inside his jacket pocket. The officials at the station at first refused to believe Kearney's claims that Guiteau had shot the president. The detective blotter would note the shooting, investigation, and arrest as well as Garfield's death several weeks later.


text: In the summer of 1918, Major and Superintendent Raymond W. Pulliam established the Women's Bureau, originally directed by Marion O. Spingarn. The Women's Bureau was created to deal with issues involving juveniles, specifically girls, such as delinquency, investigating casework on juveniles, preventive welfare work to curb criminality in juveniles, and the supervision of movie theatres, dance halls, and similar places. Most of the officers in the Bureau in 1920 were trained as school teachers, nurses, or social workers, and included one lawyer. On October 7, 1918, Mina Van Winkle was appointed a police officer in the Women's Bureau. She was known to be extremely outspoken and was an ardent supporter of protection for girls and other women during the law enforcement and judicial process. In January 1919 Van Winkle became director of the Women's Bureau, a post she held until her death in 1932.


text: Also in 1919, the MPD established a "School of Instruction" on the third floor of the 7th Precinct. This was the early forerunner to the Training Bureau and today's Metropolitan Police Academy. A group of 22 officers took a 30-day course in the fundamental duties of police officers, the law of arrest, and court procedures. By 1930, an official training school was established. The school expanded the original course work to a three-month period, and brought in outside experts from various fields to instruct.


text: During Prohibition, the MPD remained active dealing with the organized crime that resulted in DC. During that thirteen-year period, almost 25 officers were killed in the line of duty, mostly due to gunfire and accidents while pursuing rum-runners.


text: During the Great Depression, over 17,000 veterans of the First World War marched on Washington to demand payment for their service. Known as the Bonus Army, they set up camp in a Hooverville in Anacostia Park. The marchers remained at their campsite waiting for President Herbert Hoover to take action after Congress rejected a bill to pay the veterans. On July 28, 1932, Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the Metropolitan Police to remove the Bonus Army veterans from their camp. When the veterans moved back into it, they rushed two officers trapped on the second floor of a structure. The cornered officers drew their revolvers and shot two veterans, William Hushka and Eric Carlson, who died later. In the aftermath of the shooting, President Hoover ordered the military, under General Douglas MacArthur, to disperse the Bonus Army. Fifty-five veterans were injured and 135 arrested.


text: In December 1951, Robert V. Murray became Major and Superintendent. He took the command of a demoralized department marred by embarrassments, corruption, and waning public support. During his 13 years as chief, Murray would be credited with making the most sweeping, and longest lasting changes in the MPD's history and is seen as bringing the department into the modern era of policing. One of his first acts was that he would make rounds of the various precincts, inspecting them and the officers where he promised his support. He developed a code of ethics for officers and created a new branch to investigate police corruption, named the Internal Investigations Division—this was a precursor to the Internal Affairs Division. Murray also made good on his promise to improve conditions for his department. By 1952 Murray had petitioned Congress to give his officers a ten percent raise, had turned the six-day work week into a five-day work week, and worked to have two officers per patrol car. He went on to improve the MPD's vehicle fleet, initiated the use of canines, radar, helicopters and experimented with hand held radios.


text: In 1953 Congress passed the District Government Reorganization Act. It formally abolished the rank and title of Major and Superintendent and replaced it with the position of Chief of Police. Murray would be the last Major and Superintendent and the first Chief of Police of the MPD. Murray's reforms and efforts improved the image of the department which expanded to 3,000 officers. He and the MPD earned public accolades for their handling of the Transit strikes in the hot summers of 1955 and 1956, the March on Washington, and the funeral of JFK. One of his final major acts would be to fully integrate assignments. Specific assignments and beats would no longer be given by only white officers or only black officers. Although it did not eliminate racist tensions and discrimination, it moved the department forward towards racial equality.


text: The April 1968 Washington, D.C., riots, in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., were the most devastating to the city. The roughly 20,000 rioters quickly overwhelmed the 3,100 member police department. During the four days of violence, the inner part of Washington was devastated in widespread looting and fires, at one point coming within two blocks of the White House. The rioting ended when 11,850 federal troops and 1,750 D.C. Army National Guardsmen were called out to assist the overwhelmed MPD. 13 people were killed, 1,098 were injured, and over 6,100 were arrested. The resulting economic fallout and crime spike would take many areas decades to recover from. The mobilization of 13,600 troops to assist the MPD in putting down the riot was the largest military occupation of an American city since the Civil War.


text: On September 20, 1974, Officer Gail A. Cobb was shot and killed, becoming the first female U.S. police officer to be shot and killed while patrolling in the line of duty. While on foot patrol, Cobb was tipped off that a suspected bank robber had just fled into a nearby garage. She located the man and instructed him to place his hands on the wall. As she radioed for assistance, the suspect spun around and fired a single shot at point-blank range. The bullet went through her wrist and her police radio and then struck in the chest, killing her.


text: Officers of the MPD were also present at the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan during which one officer, Thomas Delahanty, was shot. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Washington was hit by the crack epidemic and the homicide rates soared. The district soon became known as the "murder capital" of the nation.


text: During the 1991 Washington, D.C. riot, the MPD contended with three days of violence by rioters, mostly in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, who were upset in the aftermath of a controversial police shooting which exacerbated strained relationships between the city's Hispanic population and the MPD. The riot was dispersed after a curfew was initiated and over 1,000 riot police descended on the area to enforce the peace.


text: In 2000, MPD detective Johnny St. Valentine Brown, assigned to the narcotics division, was convicted of perjury after lying about having a degree from Howard University's School of Pharmacy. In the wake of his conviction, many drug offenders with cases involving Brown were retried. In 2001, Brown was charged with contempt after sending the sentencing judge forged letters of support in a bid to gain leniency in his sentencing.


text: The MPD also responded to the September 11 attacks of 2001. Charles H. Ramsey, who was the Chief of Police at the time, later stated in an interview:


text: We had just finished up a meeting when my chief of staff came in and told me I needed to go into his office and take a look at what was going on in New York. He had the "Today Show" on and he was looking at images of the first tower burning, the second tower had not yet been hit. I asked what happened and he said nobody seems to know. A small plane based on the way it was described must have flown into the building. Everybody was still kind of not sure if it was an accident, on purpose or whatever and as we were standing there looking we actually saw the second plane strike the second tower. Once the second plane struck they realize that it was an coordinated attack.


text: The MPD activated its newly built Joint Operations Command Center (JOCC). Although it had not officially opened yet, September 11, 2001, became its first day of operations. While some equipment had been installed, other devices, such as phones, had not and had to be installed on the fly as emergency personnel arrived to respond. Officials from various agencies and departments including the United States Park Police, United States Capitol Police, the FBI, Secret Service, and the FAA's military district arrived to respond. Around that time, they were notified that the Pentagon had been hit as well. Though the Pentagon was located across the river in Arlington County, Virginia, MPD officers still responded to assist with the emergency response. Additionally, MPD officers working in conjunction with U.S. Park Police officers locked down all federal buildings along the National Mall, including establishing a perimeter around the White House.


text: The U.S. Park Police had sent its two helicopters to assist with operations at the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, the flight control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was evacuated. Flight control of all airspace over the Washington metro area was turned over to the U.S. Park Police helicopters who coordinated with NORAD. However, needing to assist with evacuating victims, the Park Police requested assistance from MPD. Shortly thereafter, an MPD helicopter arrived and took over command and control of Washington's air space.


text: That evening, after the majority of the population had returned home and Washington's streets lay empty, Chief Ramsey, his Executive Assistant Chief Terry Gainer, FBI director Robert Mueller, and Secret Service director Brian L. Stafford drove around D.C. to check security measures of the locked-down city. While several officers also wanted to assist with efforts in New York, many had to remain in D.C. and the majority of the department worked 12-hour shifts several weeks after the attacks. Ramsey noted that at the time many, himself included, thought that there were more attacks to come.


text: On January 2, 2007, Cathy L. Lanier took the post of Chief of Police. Lanier, who began her career as a Metropolitan Police patrol officer, became the first female chief of the department. She has been singled out in publications for her community-oriented and technology-driven approach to policing that has helped modernize the MPD and lower crime rates. In 2012 the city attained a lowered homicide rate not seen since 1961. Lanier departed in 2016 to lead security for the National Football League and was succeeded by Peter Newsham, the chief from 2017 to 2021.


text: On September 16, 2013, MPD officers responded to the Washington Navy Yard for an active shooter in Building 197. Two officers were shot during the over-hour-long search and gunfight. The first, Officer Scott Williams, was hit in both legs during an exchange of gunfire with the shooter, Aaron Alexis. The second, Officer Dorian DeSantis, was a member of MPD's Emergency Response Team. Officer DeSantis was with U.S. Park Police officers Andrew Wong and Carl Hiott and had entered an area of cubicles when Alexis engaged them, striking DeSantis in his tactical vest. Uninjured by the gunshot, DeSantis immediately returned fire and killed Alexis. In all, thirteen people were killed and eight others were injured, three from gunfire. Williams and DeSantis were given the Medal of Valor, Medal of Honor and the Blue Badge Medal on February 20, 2014, during a ceremony to honor them and the 170 law enforcement officers, including 57 MPD officers, who responded and entered the building to search for Alexis.


text: During the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, the Metropolitan police were among the agencies called to restore order. The department reported that 58 officers were injured during the assault, and that several were hospitalized.


text: On September 11, 2001, four commercial aircraft were hijacked by members of a terrorist group called Al-Qaeda. Two of the planes were crashed into each of The World Trade Center towers in New York City, one was retaken by passengers and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and one was crashed into The Pentagon. All MPD officers were called in to support law enforcement efforts, including those to evacuate the city and protect buildings.


text: On September 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis entered the Washington Navy Yard where he was working as a contractor and carried out the deadliest workplace mass shooting in Washington D.C. history, killing 12. He used a shotgun he had legally purchased days before, and a handgun he had taken from a security guard after fatally shooting him during the attack. His attack lasted 1 hour and 9 minutes before he was fatally shot by a member of the MPD Emergency Response Team (ERT).


text: On January 6, 2021, a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. president, stormed the United States Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. MPD was called in to assist the United States Capitol Police. Over 60 MPD Officers were injured during their response. The attack resulted in five deaths, including one United States Capitol Police officer.


text: MPD is headed by a chief of police. Other senior leadership members includes an executive assistant chief of police, two patrol chiefs (one North and one South), three assistant chiefs (one each for the Investigative Services, Homeland Security, and Internal Affairs bureaus) and two directors (one for the Corporate Support Bureau and one for the Professional Development Bureau). Each of the district's seven districts is led by a district commander. The First, Sixth and Seventh Districts report to Patrol Services South while the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Districts report to Patrol Services North.


text: The department has a number of specialized units, including the Gun Recovery Unit (GRU) and District Crime Suppression Teams (CSTs). Other specialized units in the MPD are under the Special Liaison Branch works with various parts of Washington's population. Within the branch are four units: the Asian Liaison Unit (ALU), the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit (DHHU), the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) -- formerly led by internationally recognized leader and retired Lieutenant: Brett Parson, and the Latino Liaison Unit (LLU), which collectively have 196 members. Within MPD's Homeland Security Bureau is the Special Operations Division and the Joint Strategic & Tactical Analysis Command Center. Within the Special Operations Division is the Training Unit, Special Tactics Branch, and the Special Events Branch; the latter two units coordinate with the U.S. Secret Service.


text: The MPD has had an average of just under 3,800 sworn members. As of the end of 2017, the department had 3,837 sworn personnel and 658 civilian personnel. Of the sworn personnel, there are 3,075 officers and detectives, 146 recruits, 437 sergeants, 116 lieutenants, 35 captains, and 28 command personnel. Among sworn personnel, about 78% were men and 22% were women and, about 52% of sworn personnel were black, 36% were white, 9% were Hispanic, and 4% were Asian. The proportion of African American officers has increased over time; in 1968, African Americans constituted 25% of the department's force and in 1970 constituted 35% of the department's force.


text: These District of Columbia is divided into seven geographical areas designated as "districts" which are numbered 1–7. The districts are then broken up into Patrol Service Areas (PSA). These PSAs are the beats that are served by the district's patrol units.


text: Detectives do not hold supervisory authority over a sergeant and above and do not have supervisory authority over uniformed officers except when taking charge of a crime scene. Members who hold the rank of sergeant or above but are assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division or have investigatory duties, are referred to with the "Detective" title in front, e. g. "Detective-Sergeant".


text: Persons who are hired by the MPD spend at least 28 weeks at the Maurice T. Turner Jr., Metropolitan Police Academy receiving basic instruction in police work to include laws of arrest, search and seizure, criminal law, traffic regulations, human relations, community policing, and ethics. In addition to these they receive specialized skill training in emergency vehicle operations, firearms, first aid, and defensive tactics.


text: They are then assigned to one of the seven police districts and are assigned to a field training officer (FTO) who continues to monitor their progress and help them to practically apply their training. The entire process lasts through an 18-month probationary period. At the end of the probationary period, officers are certified to patrol on their own, apply to specialized units, and progress through the department's hierarchy.


text: Recruit Officer is the initial rank of oncoming Metropolitan Police officers, held while undergoing training at the Metropolitan Police Academy.


text: Officers are eligible for the rank of Police Officer First Class after three years time in service. The rank holds no supervisory authority and is used as a title for commendation. As of 2022, the rank is no longer mentioned in MPD General Orders and may no longer be in use.


text: Master Patrol Officers (MPO) are assigned some of the field training duties, and hold supervisory authority in the absence of a sergeant. The rank of Master Patrol Officer is currently being phased out as the MPD has not held a promotion for the MPO rank in nearly a decade.


text: The MPD adopts a rank differentiation method via the uniforms worn. Officers up through the rank of Master Patrol Officer wear dark blue shirts and silver badges with 'M.P.D.' insignia pinned on each side of the collar and silver cap plates. Sergeants also wear the same dark blue shirt but they wear gold badges, gold collar insignia, and gold cap plates instead of silver. Uniformed headgear of all ranks consists of an eight-point hat, similar to those worn by the NYPD and San Francisco Police Departments. Baseball hats are permitted and in the winter a watch cap is authorized for wear. For decades prior to 2018, the MPD wore light blue shirts.


text: In October 2018 the MPD switched to a new uniform for Officers through Sergeants consisting of an outer load bearing vest with a patch on the back saying "METROPOLITAN POLICE" in white lettering. The color of the uniform also changed from the previous light powder blue to a dark navy blue, similar to the NYPD. The new uniform also consists of wool pants with hidden cargo pockets.


text: Lieutenants and above wear white shirts with gold badges and gold 'M.P.D.' insignia pinned on each side of the collar. Their insignia of rank is displayed on the shoulder epaulets of the uniform (as in the military). The badges and cap plates for higher-ranking officers are gold and engraved with the wearer's rank-title. With the exception of their badges and rank insignia the outer uniform dress is the same for all ranks, but may include a blazer with any awarded service ribbons displayed above the badge.


text: The standard-issue service weapon for MPD officers is the Glock 17 or Glock 19. Officers at the rank of lieutenant or above are authorized to carry the Glock 26. Investigators and Detectives are authorized to carry the Glock 19.


text: The Emergency Response Team uses the SIG Sauer P226 9x19mm as the sidearm instead of the standard issue Glock pistols carried by other units and officers in the agency.


text: The current colors of MPD vehicles is an all-white body with red stripes and a single blue stripe that waves through the red stripes. The word "POLICE" is printed in large text on the side of the car, and "MPDC", with the MPD shield splitting MP and DC, on the rear quarter panels of the vehicle. The cruiser number is printed on the front fenders of the vehicle. The cruiser number is also printed on the roof of the vehicle as well as on the back right of the vehicle with the district or unit on the back left. The motto "We are here to help" is printed on the rear windows. "METROPOLITAN POLICE" is emblazoned on the back of the vehicle as well. The vehicles are designed and outfitted by Major Police Supply in Laurel Maryland.


text: The MPD utilizes a variety of vehicles to support their mission. For patrol operations the department utilizes the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, Ford Police Interceptor Utility, Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Durango, Ford Fusion, and the Dodge Charger. The Ford Transit Prisoner Transport Van is also utilized by patrol for prisoner transports as well as patrol operations if the district is short on vehicles. The department also utilizes the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, and Chrysler 200. These are typically unmarked and are used by detectives and specialty units such as Crime Suppression Teams. The Special Operations Division (SOD) has a large variety of vehicles including the Eurocopter AS350B3, Lenco Bearcat, and a Freightliner M2 tandem rear axle chassis with a mobile command center van. In addition to the vehicles used by patrol, the SOD also uses the Ford F-150 Police Responder, Chevrolet Tahoe, Harley Davidson FLHPTI motorcycles, and many others. In 2020, MPD introduced a new fleet of 2020 BMW R1250RT-P motorcycles which were seen during the 2021 presidential inauguration.


text: As of 2018, the MPD maintained a fleet of nearly 1,700 vehicles. This consists of 830 marked police cruisers, 405 unmarked police cruisers, 170 marked other vehicles (such as vans, SUVs, trucks, and command buses), 29 unmarked other vehicles, 134 Honda-Harley scooters, 60 Harley Davidson FLHTPI motorcycles, 17 boats, and 34 miscellaneous vehicles, including forklifts, traffic machines, and trailers. The MPD also maintains a fleet of police Segways.


text: Since its establishment, 122 MPD officers have died in the line of duty. The most common causes of line-of-duty deaths among MPD officers have been gunfire (61), motorcycle crash (11), automobile crash (9), vehicular assault (7), and accidental gunfire (7).


text: The MPD has been featured in several novels, films, and television series. In these depictions it is often, but incorrectly, referred to as the "Metro" Police instead of the "Metropolitan" Police. There is a distinction, as the "Metro Police" is the commonly used name to refer to the police department of The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, a multi-jurisdictional agency (DC/Maryland/Virginia). The primary jurisdiction of the "Metro Police" is the metropolitan area subway (known as "The Metro") and the bus transit system whereas MPD has jurisdiction throughout Washington, D.C.


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Jia Angeli Carla Tolentino (born 1988) is an American writer and editor. A staff writer for "The New Yorker," she previously worked as deputy editor of "Jezebel" and a contributing editor at "The Hairpin". Her writing has also appeared in "The New York Times Magazine" and "Pitchfork". In 2019, her collected essays were published as "Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion."


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Tolentino was born in Toronto, Ontario, to parents from the Philippines. When she was four, Tolentino, her younger brother, and her parents moved to Houston, Texas where she grew up in a Southern Baptist community. Tolentino attended an evangelical megachurch and a small Christian private school. Tolentino started elementary school early and graduated from high school as her class salutatorian. In 2005, Tolentino enrolled at the University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar, studying English, joining a sorority, and participating in an a cappella group called The Virginia Belles. After graduating from UVA in 2009, Tolentino spent a year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan. Tolentino earned an MFA from the University of Michigan.


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Tolentino began writing for "The Hairpin" in 2013, hired by then-editor-in-chief Emma Carmichael. In 2014, Tolentino and Carmichael both moved to Jezebel, where Tolentino worked for two years before joining "The New Yorker".


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Tolentino's writing has won accolades across genres. "Flavorwire" called her a "go-to music source," while her first short story won the fall 2012 Raymond Carver Short Fiction Contest and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has also garnered favorable attention for essays on topics such as race in publishing, marriage, abortion, and notions of female empowerment, as well as for her no-pulled-punches music criticism. "The A.V. Club" admired "Tolentino's sick burns on Charlie Puth" and Studio 360 observed that even in the near-universal panning of Magic!'s song "Rude", "no criticism has been quite as cutting as Jia Tolentino's." Tolentino has reported extensively on the #MeToo movement.


title: Jia Tolentino

text: On August 6, 2019, Tolentino published a collection of essays entitled "Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion." It made its debut on "The New York Times" Bestseller List on August 25, coming in at #2 on the Combined Print & E-Book Non-fiction list. In a review for "The New York Times", Maggie Doherty wrote: "Tolentino’s earnest ambivalence, expressed often throughout the book, is characteristic of millennial life-writing, and it can be contrasted with boomer self-satisfaction and Gen X disaffection in the same genre." "Slate" columnist Laura Miller wrote in her review of the book, "Tolentino is a classical essayist along the lines of Montaigne, threading her way on the page toward an understanding of what she thinks and feels about life, the world, and herself."


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Her 2021 reporting on the , co-authored with Ronan Farrow, attracted international attention, with the piece being described as "blistering" by Tyler Aquilina in "Entertainment Weekly" and as a "journalistic reference text on Britney Spears" by Dirk Peitz in "Die Zeit".


title: Jia Tolentino

text: Tolentino met her partner, Andrew Daley, an architect, while they were students at UVA. In the essay "I Thee Dread" in her book "Trick Mirror", Tolentino writes at length about her ambivalence toward marriage. According to Tolentino, she married her partner in November 2021.


title: Stacey Koon

text: Stacey Cornell Koon (born November 23, 1950) is an American convicted criminal and former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He is one of the four police officers who were responsible for beating Rodney King in 1991. He was sentenced to years in federal prison in 1993 for his role in the beating.


title: Stacey Koon

text: On March 3, 1991, in Los Angeles, a high-speed chase was initiated by California Highway Patrol officer Melanie Singer after motorist Rodney King was observed driving a 1988 white Hyundai . The chase ended on the right shoulder of Foothill Boulevard. Koon, the commanding Los Angeles Police Department officer on the scene, and four other LAPD officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseño and Rolando Solano) attempted to arrest King. The officers stated that King resisted arrest and Officers Powell, Wind and Briseño had to use force to subdue him, although witnesses denied that King resisted. The incident was videotaped by a nearby resident, George Holliday, who sold it to local TV station KTLA, with the videotape showing King on all fours on the ground while the officers, taking turns tasering and beating King with their batons.


title: Stacey Koon

text: As a result of the incident, King was hospitalized with a fractured skull, broken leg, and burn marks from the taser. The station aired parts of the video and CNN aired it the next day. The trial was moved out of Los Angeles to the largely white suburb of Simi Valley, after the judge ruled that untainted jurors could not be found in Los Angeles. The police officers were tried for the use of excessive force in state court in 1992 and acquitted on April 29 that year. Later the same day the 1992 Los Angeles riots began, which resulted in 63 deaths.


title: Stacey Koon

text: In 1993, the four officers were tried in a federal court in Los Angeles; Koon and Powell were convicted of violating King's civil rights. The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines recommended the offenders serve up to ten years in prison. Instead, U.S. District Judge John Davies sentenced the offenders to 30 months. The sentencing was vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in August 1994 for violating the guidelines. In February 1996, that judgment was itself reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States, which found that the shortened sentences were within the district court's discretion.


title: Stacey Koon

text: Koon wrote a book in 1992 about the incident in which he defended his actions and blamed the riots on the media and community leaders. He appeared as a guest on "A Closer Look with Faith Daniels" on October 24, 1992.


title: Stacey Koon

text: In November 1995 a gunman, 35-year-old Randall Tolbert, entered a halfway house where Koon was completing the final weeks of his prison sentence and demanded to know where Koon was. Koon was away from the facility, on a holiday pass at the time. The gunman took three hostages, one of whom was 67-year-old Karl Milam. After fatally shooting Milam, Tolbert was shot and killed by the sheriff's SWAT team during a shootout.


title: Stacey Koon

text: Koon eventually moved to Castaic, north of Los Angeles. In 2012, he began working as a chauffeur in Los Angeles for the limousine company Music Express where his patrons have included former U.S. vice president Al Gore and political commentator D. L. Hughley as well as other prominent Hollywood writers.


title: Stacey Koon

text: Both Koon and fellow LAPD officer Laurence Powell have been used as symbols of racism in hip hop and related music. He is referenced by rap metal band Rage Against the Machine in their song "Vietnow, and is mentioned in Ice Cube's songs "Really Doe" and "We Had to Tear This Motherfucka Up". Koon was also namechecked in "The Simpsons" episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts" by conservative commentator Birch Barlow as an example of someone "railroaded by our liberal justice system" alongside Sideshow Bob, Oliver North, and Joe Camel. He was parodied twice in 1993 by Jim Carrey on the American sketch comedy television series "In Living Color".


title: Stacey Koon

text: In 2007, "Time" magazine profiled Koon as it marked the 15th anniversary of the riots. They reported that since his release he had been living on the royalties from his book.


title: Stacey Koon

text: In 2018, Koon was arrested for driving under the influence in Santa Clarita, California. Koon pleaded guilty and received a sentence of three years' probation and was required to install an alcohol interlock on his vehicle.


title: Stacey Koon

text: Koon has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in criminal justice from California State University, Los Angeles, and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.


title: Parachute cord

text: Parachute cord (also paracord or 550 cord when referring to type-III paracord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of parachutes. This cord is now used as a general purpose utility cord. This versatile cord was used by astronauts during the 82nd Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.


title: Parachute cord

text: The braided sheath is usually made up of 32 interwoven strands, giving it a relatively smooth texture. The all-nylon construction makes paracord somewhat elastic.


title: Parachute cord

text: Current technical standards for the manufacture of cord for use in parachutes are published by the Parachute Industry Association. The now inactivated US military standard MIL-C-5040H required the material to be nylon. Similar styles of cord are manufactured with other materials such as polyester.


title: Parachute cord

text: Historically associated with airborne units and divisions, paracord is not used as cordage for modern "square" parachutes. However, it continues to be used by many military units in almost any situation where light cordage is needed. Typical uses include attaching equipment to harnesses, as dummy cords to avoid losing small or important items, tying rucksacks to vehicle racks, securing camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, and so forth. When threaded with beads, paracord may be used as a pace counter to estimate ground covered by foot.


title: Parachute cord

text: The yarns of the core (commonly referred to as "the guts") can also be removed when finer string is needed, for instance as sewing thread to repair gear, or to be used as fishing line in a survival situation. For applications requiring a thinner or less elastic cord, such as shoelaces, users often remove the yarn in the core and use the nylon sheath alone. The ends of the cord can be melted and/or crimped to prevent fraying.


title: Parachute cord

text: There are also modern versions of parachute cord that include non-traditional survival strands within the core such as fishing line, fire tinder, and even snare wire.


title: Parachute cord

text: In addition to purely utility functions, paracord can be used to fashion knotted or braided bracelets, lanyards, belts, and other decorative items. These are sometimes tied in a fashion that can easily be unraveled for use in a survival situation. Some companies use paracord in conjunction with other survival components to create everyday wearable survival kits.


title: Parachute cord

text: The same properties which soldiers appreciate in paracord are also useful in civilian applications. After World War II parachute cord became available to civilians, first as military surplus and then as a common retail product from various surplus stores and websites. A given product labelled as paracord may not correspond to a specific military type and can be of differing construction, quality, color, or strength. Particularly poor quality examples may have fewer strands in the sheath or core, have cores constructed of bulk fiber rather than individual yarns, or include materials other than nylon.


title: Parachute cord

text: Paracord has also been used for whipmaking. The durability and versatility of this material has proved beneficial for performing whip crackers and enthusiasts. Since nylon does not rot or mildew, it has become known as an all-weather material for whipmaking.


title: Parachute cord

text: Hikers and outdoor sports enthusiasts sometimes use "survival bracelets" made of several feet of paracord which is woven into a compact and wearable form. Such bracelets are meant to be unraveled when one needs rope for whatever purpose — securing cargo, lashing together poles, fixing broken straps or belts, or assisting with water rescues. Young survivalists, such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, are also taught the importance of using the paracord as a survival tool. On the other hand, the paracord is a poor choice for an emergency tourniquet as its small diameter will crush tissue without applying the needed pressure to stop bleeding.


title: Parachute cord

text: Another use of parachute cord is in the stringing of mallet percussion instruments, such the xylophone, marimba, or vibraphone.


title: Parachute cord

text: A very similar usage niche is nylon webbing, a strong, economical fabric woven as a flat strip or tube, also often used in place of rope.


title: Parachute cord

text: Additional uses for parachute cord are in the manufacture of items such as lanyards, belts, dog leashes, rosaries, and key chains. This is becoming more popular as crafters are discovering this material.


title: Parachute cord

text: US military issue paracord was purchased with reference to a technical standard MIL-C-5040H, which was inactivated in 1997. This standard described six types: I, IA, II, IIA, III, IV.


title: Parachute cord

text: The core (also known as the kern) consists of several yarns, the number is determined by the cord type, and each yarn is made up of two or three (commercial) or three (MIL-Spec) smaller nylon fibers twisted together. Types IA and IIA differ from their type I and II counterparts in that they have no core. Type III, a type commonly found in use, is nominally rated with a minimum breaking strength of , thus the nickname "550 cord". All six types are specified to have a minimum elongation of 30%.


title: Parachute cord

text: The US military specification for paracord gives strength and construction parameters to which the final product must conform, as well as requirements for packaging and marking. Although the standard contains specific denier figures for the sheath strands and inner yarns, there are no overall diameter requirements for the cord itself. Below is a table of selected elements from the specification.


title: Parachute cord

text: Military-specification type III cord may be slightly thicker than commercial grade due to it often requiring three nylon fibers per inner core as opposed to the two fibers per core of the commercial version. Military cord will be closer to a thickness, whereas commercial versions are closer to a thickness. This will also vary if the Type III uses 7, 8, or 9 inner cores. The most common on the commercial market is seven cores. While the US military has no overall diameter requirements in its specifications, in the field, Type III cord typically measures in diameter.


title: Parachute cord

text: The inactivated military standard only describes sheath colors as natural or olive drab ("camouflage green"). However, commercially many dozens of different and variable colors are available ranging from simple colors such as blue, green, brown, and black to more intricate colors such as multi colored, camouflage, and neon variations. Paracord has also been made in special zombie patterns, light reflective, color-shifting, and glow in the dark.


title: Parachute cord

text: The inactivated specification describes the requirements for the manufacture of compliant cords. The fibers for the outer sheath must be colored using an approved dye; the dye cannot compromise the structure of the fibers or the finished product. The undyed fibers are twisted tightly to make the inner yarns: 3 bundles of fiber per core yarn. The sheath is then plaited over the yarns. The number of yarns are determined by cord type; type III would have 7-9 yarns. The cord is steamed to tighten the cord. This step is crucial for parachute use since the extra bit of stretch helps absorb the shock when the parachute is deployed.


title: Parachute cord

text: The inactivated military standard referred to a color code used to identify the manufacturers of the cord. Manufacturers would insert several dyed strands, using a code assigned in MIL STD 905 (also inactivated) to identify themselves. This was so that in the event of cord failure it would be possible to find the source of the sub-par cordage. Type 1A cord and Type 2A cord would have the marking fibers on the sheath since they contain no inner yarns. Types 1, III and IV would have yarns containing the marking color.


title: Stevie Ray Vaughan discography

text: Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and the frontman for the band Double Trouble. During his career he released four studio albums, one live album, and several singles.


title: Stevie Ray Vaughan discography

text: At the time of his death on August 27, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind a large collection of recordings. Over the years, his record companies have continued to issue his music in various formats. Since Jimmie Vaughan, his brother, took control of his intellectual property rights after his death, over 12 Vaughan albums have appeared in the main U.S. albums chart. Several of these have also placed in charts in more than six countries around the world. After his death, Vaughan's record company Sony Music Entertainment continued to issue his albums. These comprise studio outtakes/alternate takes, jams, and live recordings.


title: Stevie Ray Vaughan discography

text: Stevie Ray Vaughan's bootleg recordings are performances by Vaughan that have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release. The term most often refers to audio recordings, but also includes video performances. Bootleg recordings arise from a multitude of sources, including broadcast performances, recordings of live shows, test discs, privately distributed copies of demos, and copied studio session tapes. From the earliest bootlegs in the early 1970s, performances for television, concerts, and studio outtakes have been extensive sources for Stevie Ray Vaughan bootlegs.


title: Stevie Ray Vaughan discography

text: Several websites have been devoted to comprehensively documenting Stevie Ray Vaughan bootlegs; the following is a list for some of the most common or notable bootlegged recordings by Stevie Ray Vaughan.


title: Stevie Ray Vaughan discography

text: A large number of studio outtakes for the "Soul to Soul" album are available on bootlegs, ranging from complete session tapes to selected takes on various bootlegged compilations. Recorded in March through May 1985, the sessions took place at the Dallas Sound Lab in Texas. In total, 59 tracks were included on eight cassette tapes.


title: The Return of the Native

text: The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine "Belgravia", a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878. Because of the novel's controversial themes, Hardy had some difficulty finding a publisher; reviews, however, though somewhat mixed, were generally positive. In the twentieth century, "The Return of the Native" became one of Hardy's most popular and highly regarded novels.


title: The Return of the Native

text: The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath, and, with the exception of the epilogue, "Aftercourses", covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy Fawkes Night as Diggory Venn is slowly crossing the heath with his van, which is being drawn by ponies. In his van is a passenger. When darkness falls, the country folk light bonfires on the surrounding hills, emphasising the pagan spirit of the heath and its denizens.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Venn is a reddleman; he travels the country supplying farmers with a red mineral called reddle (dialect term for red ochre) that farmers use to mark their sheep. Although his trade has stained him red from head to foot, underneath his devilish colouring he is a handsome, shrewd, well-meaning young man. His passenger is a young woman named Thomasin Yeobright, whom Venn is taking home. Earlier that day, Thomasin had planned to marry Damon Wildeve, a local innkeeper known for his fickleness; however, an inconsistency in the marriage licence delayed the marriage. Thomasin, in distress, ran after the reddleman's van and asked him to take her home. Venn himself is in love with Thomasin, and unsuccessfully wooed her two years before. Now, although he believes Wildeve is unworthy of her love, he is so devoted to her that he is willing to help her secure the man of her choice.


title: The Return of the Native

text: At length, Venn reaches Bloom's End, the home of Thomasin's aunt, Mrs. Yeobright. She is a good woman, if somewhat proud and inflexible, and she wants the best for Thomasin. In former months she opposed her niece's choice of husband, and publicly forbade the banns; now, since Thomasin has compromised herself by leaving town with Wildeve and returning unmarried, the best outcome Mrs. Yeobright can envision is for the postponed marriage to be duly solemnised as soon as possible. She and Venn both begin working on Wildeve to make sure he keeps his promise to Thomasin.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Wildeve, however, is still preoccupied with Eustacia Vye, an exotically beautiful young woman living with her grandfather in a lonely house on Egdon Heath. Eustacia is a black-haired, queenly woman, whose Italian father came from Corfu, and who grew up in Budmouth, a fashionable seaside resort. She holds herself aloof from most of the heathfolk; they, in turn, consider her an oddity, and some even think she's a witch. She is nothing like Thomasin, who is sweet-natured. She loathes the heath, yet roams it constantly, carrying a spyglass and an hourglass. The previous year, she and Wildeve were lovers; however, even during the height of her passion for him, she knew she only loved him because there was no better object available. When Wildeve broke off the relationship to court Thomasin, Eustacia's interest in him briefly returned. The two meet on Guy Fawkes night, and Wildeve asks her to run off to America with him. She demurs.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Eustacia drops Wildeve when Mrs. Yeobright's son Clym, a successful diamond merchant, returns from Paris to his native Egdon Heath. Although he has no plans to return to Paris or the diamond trade and is, in fact, planning to become a schoolmaster for the rural poor, Eustacia sees him as a way to escape the hated heath and begin a grander, richer existence in a glamorous new location. With some difficulty, she arranges to meet Clym, and the two soon fall in love. When Mrs. Yeobright objects, Clym quarrels with her; later, she quarrels with Eustacia as well.


title: The Return of the Native

text: When he sees that Eustacia is lost to him, Wildeve marries Thomasin, who gives birth to a daughter the next summer. Clym and Eustacia also marry and move to a small cottage five miles away, where they enjoy a brief period of happiness. The seeds of rancour soon begin to germinate, however: Clym studies night and day to prepare for his new career as a schoolmaster while Eustacia clings to the hope that he'll give up the idea and take her abroad. Instead, he nearly blinds himself with too much reading, then further mortifies his wife by deciding to eke out a living, at least temporarily, as a furze-cutter. Eustacia, her dreams blasted, finds herself living in a hut on the heath, chained by marriage to a lowly labouring man.


title: The Return of the Native

text: At this point, Wildeve reappears; he has unexpectedly inherited a large sum of money, and is now in a better position to fulfill Eustacia's hopes. He comes calling on the Yeobrights in the middle of one hot August day and, although Clym is at home, he is fast asleep on the hearth after a gruelling session of furze-cutting. While Eustacia and Wildeve are talking, Mrs. Yeobright knocks on the door; she has decided to pay a courtesy call in the hopes of healing the estrangement between herself and her son. Eustacia looks out at her and then, in some alarm, ushers her visitor out at the back door. She hears Clym calling to his mother and, thinking his mother's knocking has awakened him, remains in the garden for a few moments. When Eustacia goes back inside, she finds Clym still asleep and his mother gone. Clym, she now realises, merely cried out his mother's name in his sleep.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Mrs Yeobright, it turns out, saw Eustacia looking out the window at her; she also saw Clym's gear by the door, and so knew they were both at home. Now, thinking she has been deliberately barred from her son's home, she miserably begins the long, hot walk home. Later that evening, Clym, unaware of her attempted visit, heads for Bloom's End and on the way finds her crumpled beside the path, dying from an adder's bite. When she expires that night from the combined effects of snake venom and heat exhaustion, Clym's grief and remorse make him physically ill for several weeks. Eustacia, racked with guilt, dares not tell him of her role in the tragedy; when he eventually finds out from a neighbour's child about his mother's visit—and Wildeve's—he rushes home to accuse his wife of murder and adultery. Eustacia refuses to explain her actions; instead, she tells him "You are no blessing, my husband" and reproaches him for his cruelty. She then moves back to her grandfather's house, where she struggles with her despair while she awaits some word from Clym.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Wildeve visits her again on Guy Fawkes night, and offers to help her get to Paris. Eustacia realises that if she lets Wildeve help her, she'll be obliged to become his mistress. She tells him she will send him a signal by night if she decides to accept. Clym's anger, meanwhile, has cooled and he sends Eustacia a letter the next day offering reconciliation. The letter arrives a few minutes too late; by the time her grandfather tries to give it to her, she has already signalled to Wildeve and set off through wind and rain to meet him. She walks along weeping, however, knowing she is about to break her marriage vows for a man who is unworthy of her.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Wildeve readies a horse and gig and waits for Eustacia in the dark. Thomasin, guessing his plans, sends Clym to intercept him; she also, by chance, encounters Diggory Venn as she dashes across the heath herself in pursuit of her husband. Eustacia does not appear; instead, she falls or throws herself into nearby Shadwater Weir. Clym and Wildeve hear the splash and hurry to investigate. Wildeve plunges recklessly after Eustacia without bothering to remove his coat, while Clym, proceeding more cautiously, nevertheless is also soon at the mercy of the raging waters. Venn arrives in time to save Clym, but is too late for the others. When Clym revives, he accuses himself of murdering his wife and mother.


title: The Return of the Native

text: In the epilogue, Venn gives up being a reddleman to become a dairy farmer. Two years later, Thomasin marries him and they settle down happily together. Clym, now a sad, solitary figure, eventually takes up preaching.


title: The Return of the Native

text: With its deeply flawed heroine and its (for the time) open acknowledgement of illicit sexual relationships, "The Return of the Native" raised some eyebrows when it first appeared as a serial in Victorian Britain. Although he intended to structure the novel into five books, thus mirroring the classical tragic format, Hardy submitted to the tastes of the serial-reading public sufficiently to tack on a happy ending for Diggory Venn and Thomasin in a sixth book, "Aftercourses". In Hardy's original conception, Venn retains his weird reddleman's character, while Thomasin lives out her days as a widow.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Hardy's choice of themes—sexual politics, thwarted desire, and the conflicting demands of nature and society—makes this a truly modern novel. Underlying these modern themes, however, is a classical sense of tragedy: Hardy scrupulously observes the three unities of time, place, and action and suggests that the struggles of those trying to escape their destinies will only hasten their destruction. To emphasise this main part he uses as setting an ancient heath steeped in pre-Christian history and supplies a Chorus consisting of Grandfer Cantle, Timothy Fairway, and the rest of the heathfolk. Eustacia, who manipulates fate in hopes of leaving Egdon Heath for a larger existence in Paris, instead becomes an eternal resident when she drowns in Shadwater Weir; Wildeve shares not only Eustacia's dream of escape, but also her fate; and Clym, the would-be educational reformer, survives the Weir but lives on as a lonely, remorseful man.


title: The Return of the Native

text: Some critics—notably D. H. Lawrence—see the novel as a study of the way communities control their misfits. In Egdon Heath, most people (particularly the women) look askance at the proud, unconventional Eustacia. Mrs. Yeobright considers her too odd and unreliable to be a suitable bride for her son, and Susan Nunsuch, who frankly believes her to be a witch, tries to protect her children from Eustacia's supposedly baleful influence by stabbing her with a stocking pin and later burning her in effigy. Clym at first laughs at such superstitions, but later embraces the majority opinion when he rejects his wife as a murderer and adulteress. In this view, Eustacia dies because she has internalised the community's values to the extent that, unable to escape Egdon without confirming her status as a fallen woman, she chooses suicide. She thereby ends her sorrows while at the same time—by drowning in the weir like any woman instead of floating, witchlike—she proves her essential innocence to the community.


title: The Return of the Native

text: "The Return of the Native" was filmed for "Hallmark Hall of Fame" and broadcast on television in 1994. It was filmed in Exmoor National Park. The film stars Catherine Zeta Jones as Eustacia Vye, Clive Owen as Damon Wildeve, Ray Stevenson as Clym Yeobright, and Joan Plowright as Mrs. Yeobright. Jack Gold directed.


title: The Return of the Native

text: In 2010 an Americanised film adaptation of "The Return of the Native" was directed by Ben Westbrook. It is set in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1930s during The Great Depression.


title: The Return of the Native

text: The novel has also been adapted for the stage several times. "Dance on a Country Grave" is a musical stage adaptation by Kelly Hamilton.


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: The three-finger salute (Serbian: поздрав са три прста / "pozdrav sa tri prsta"; or three fingers, Serbian: три прста / "tri prsta"), commonly known as the Serbian salute (српски поздрав / "srpski pozdrav"), is a salute which originally expressed the Holy Trinity, used in oath-taking, and a symbol of Serbian Orthodoxy, that today simply is an expression, a gesture, for ethnic Serbs and Serbia, made by extending the thumb, index, and middle fingers of one or both hands.


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: The salute usually goes along with the Serbian flag, using several semantic layers to depict its historical meaning, while also being used a symbol of Serbian ethno-nationalism during the Guča Trumpet Festival. According to political scientist Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, "the salute remains a distinctive sign for the ethnic Serb and a symbol for belonging to the Serbian nation".


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: In Serbian and Orthodox tradition, the number three is exceptionally important. Three fingers are used when signing the cross in Orthodoxy, symbolizing the Trinity. The Serbs, when swearing Oath, historically used the three fingers (collected, as when crossing) along with the greetings "My Holy Trinity" (Serbian: Светог ми Тројства / "Svetog mi Trojstva") or "for the Honorable Cross and Golden Freedom" (за крст часни и слободу златну / "za krst časni i slobodu zlatnu") during formal and religious events. The salute was often made with both hands, raised above the head. Serbian peasants sealed a pledge by raising three fingers to the face, the face being "the focus of honour" in Balkan culture. A Serbian proverb goes "There is no cross without three fingers" (нема крста без три прста / "nema krsta bez tri prsta"). Karađorđe was appointed leader of the Serbian rebels after they all raised their "three fingers in the air" and thereby swore Oath.


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: The three fingers were viewed as a symbol of Serbdom in the 19th century. Njegoš mentioned "the crossing with three fingers has not remained" when speaking of the Islamization of Serbs, a central theme in "The Mountain Wreath" (1847). Paja Jovanović's painting, "The Takovo Uprising" (1888), depicts Miloš Obrenović holding a war flag and saluting with three fingers. The Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik, which supported that Serbs had three faiths (Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam), criticized the Pan-Serbists who according to them only "truly believed those Serbs, who cross with three fingers". A short story published in 1901 surrounds a Serbian despot meeting with a Szilágyi, who has the despot's three fingers cut off by Franciscan friars after discussing the right way of crossing.


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: Serbian Metropolitan Nikolaj Velimirović (1881–1956) called for a Serbian salute in which three fingers were to be raised along the greeting: "Thus Help Us God!". In 1937, Velimirović began a sermon protesting the Catholic support for separation of state and religion in Yugoslavia with "Raise three fingers, Orthodox Serbs!".


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: During World War II, the Catholic church in Independent State of Croatia sought that the Serbs renounce crossing with three fingers. A letter from the Chetniks to the Yugoslav Partisans stressed that the real government was in London (in exile) and that they would kill all who did not cross themselves with three fingers. An Ustashe song went "Nesta krsta sa tri prsta" ("Gone is the crossing with three fingers") which was referred to Muslim daily ablution and the Orthodox way of making the sign of the cross.


title: Three-finger salute (Serbian)

text: Vuk Drašković, the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement political party, said in a 2007 interview that he first used it in 1990 at the founding meeting of the party, inspired by Paja Jovanović's painting. During the March 1991 street demonstrations in Belgrade, the three fingers were massively used by Drašković's supporters, representing the three demands that the Serbian Renewal Movement had put before the government.