Washington, D.C
Whistleblower claims Special Police Officers are working in DC without licenses
Unlicensed Special Police Officers operating in DC
Are there fake Special Police Officers working in Washington, D.C.? FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez has been checking with various officials on the matter after multiple whistleblowers and concerned community members raised these concerns with us.
WASHINGTON – Are there fake Special Police Officers working in Washington, D.C.?
FOX 5 has been checking with various officials on the matter after multiple whistleblowers and concerned community members raised these concerns with FOX 5.
One whistleblower who asked not to be identified, spoke on camera, alleging they were hired to work security at the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex, and named two companies that are not legally licensed to operate in the District.
The whistleblower named one company as “Off Duty Protection,” claiming this company was an alleged subsidiary of “USEA Protective Services, LLC.” The whistleblower says they left after learning of alleged legal issues.
This whistleblower is an actual licensed SPO, who claims one of the owners was working as an armed SPO at the Columbia Height Village apartment complex and others without a legal SPO license.
“I saw a lot of unethical processes or procedures such as the use of excessive force – essentially kidnapping. Because if someone is not a law enforcement officer, and they’re processing arresting people, that is kidnapping,” the whistleblower said.
Columbia Heights Village apartment complex in Washington, D.C.
In the District, special police officers are essentially private officers hired to work security. They have similar powers to D.C. police, but those powers normally only extend to the property they’re protecting.
When FOX 5 reached out to management offices for the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex regarding the claims against both companies, we received this response from Spokesperson Ed Cafasso via email:
“Columbia Heights Village became aware of the company’s licensing issues on April 23, 2024. Their contract to provide security to the community was terminated the next day, on April 24, 2024. Their contract to provide security on the property began November 20, 2023.”
Cafasso would not name the company Columbia Heights Village held the contract with. He did confirm that a fake insurance certificate was used to obtain the contract and that they are currently working with a new security company, now identified as, PChange Protective Services.
The whistleblower who went on record told FOX 5 they filed claims with the DC Office of the Attorney General, the FTC, and the Department of Labor – also alleging that more than one SPO performed the security work but was not paid for their services.
D.C. police tell FOX 5 they are still investigating serious allegations made.
USEA Protective Services, LLC last held a license with D.C. in 2017, according to a city license search.
The city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection Spokesperson Charles Basham III wrote in one of multiple emails previously sent to FOX 5:
“The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) aims to ensure all business entities in the District maintain accurate and up-to-date licenses. Off Duty Protection is currently not a registered or licensed agency in the District. On June 6, 2024, a complaint concerning Off Duty Protection was lodged with our agency; our policy is not to comment on matters under review.”
Since airing a September 27th report, FOX 5 was contacted by the man who claims to be the owner of “Off Duty Protection.” He says his company was never affiliated with USEA’s contract and is denying having any part with any of the allegations made involving Columbia Heights Village or their security contact.
John Ayala, owner of Archangel Security and Training.
Separately, FOX 5 asked John Ayala, a long-time licensed D.C. SPO license and conceal carry instructor for the city, about the matter regarding concerns raised.
Ayala responded that he was not surprised.
Ayala owns his own security company, Archangel Security and Training.
He said there are likely more SPOs than current police officers working in D.C. and that he feels there needs to be more individual responsibility.
“That’s concerning because if they go out here and make an arrest and hurt somebody, then the city might even get sued, besides that person. So we have to, the companies themselves have to make sure if they’re going to hire people, they have to make sure they’re fully licensed. You can’t just bring them in because they want a body – and that’s what happens a lot of time,” Ayala said in part of his conversation with FOX 5.
Ayala says he warns his students to stay away from any security companies that require the SPO to have their own (personal) firearm because that’s not allowed in D.C.
Anyone can look up a license status on the District’s professional license search page here.
Whether there are any safeguards to prevent non-licensed contracts or non-licensed SPOs from operating, FOX 5 learned MPD has a very small branch that responds to SPO matters, when requested to do so. That branch is called the Security Officers Management Branch or SOMB.
D.C. police told FOX 5 there’s no real entity that patrols these issues – and that this is something they’re now working on with the city’s licensing department as the investigation into what happened at the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex continues.
This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 5 for updates.
Washington, D.C
Weekend weather in the DC Area: A little bit of everything
WASHINGTON (7News) — If you’ve got plans around D.C., Maryland, or Northern Virginia this weekend, you’ll want to stay flexible.
The forecast brings a mix of warm temperatures, sunshine, and a few rounds of showers and storms—especially Saturday and late Sunday.
Here’s a simple, hour-by-hour style breakdown so you can plan ahead.
Saturday: Warm Front, Clouds, and Spotty Storms
Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)
Mostly cloudy to start
A few early showers possible, especially toward the MD/PA border
Temperatures climbing through the 60s into the low 70s
What’s happening: A warm front is lifting north, bringing in milder air.
Afternoon (12 PM – 5 PM)
Highs reach the mid-70s
Clouds may break at times
Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop
Storm window: 2 PM – 7 PM
About a 50% chance of rain
Severe risk is low, but not zero
Possible:
Brief heavy downpours
Gusty winds
Maybe even small hail in isolated spots
Good news: Not everyone sees rain—but keep an eye on the sky.
Evening & Night (After 7 PM)
Storm chances linger early, then fade
Skies turn partly cloudy overnight
Lows drop to the mid-50s
Winds become light
Most of the night should be quiet and comfortable.
Sunday: The Pick of the Weekend
Morning
Dry and pleasant
A mix of sun and clouds early
Afternoon
Sunny and warmer
Highs in the low 80s
Light southwest breeze
This is your best outdoor day—great for parks, brunch, or yard work.
Sunday Night (After Midnight)
Clouds increase
Showers likely after midnight (70% chance)
Lows in the mid-50s
Winds shift from the north
Rain becomes more steady and widespread overnight
Looking Ahead (Late Sunday into Monday)
A cold front approaches from the northwest
Best chance for rain: Sunday night → Monday morning
Rainfall totals:
Generally 0.10″ to 0.25″
Locally higher in spots
Storms are possible, but:
Limited instability
Severe weather risk remains low
Weekend Planning Tips
Saturday:
Keep plans flexible—have a backup indoor option in the afternoon
Sunday:
Get outside early—it’s the best weather window
Sunday night:
Expect rain if you’re out late or traveling
The Big Picture
This weekend is part of a warming trend, with temperatures climbing from the 70s into the 80s. But with that warmth comes multiple chances for showers and storms, especially as weather fronts move through the region.
This weekend compared too next
Washington, D.C
Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that may be uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.
WASHINGTON (7News) — A mother said she learned her 13-year-old daughter was sexually abused in a D.C. school when a detective contacted her a week after it happened. She said the school never notified her.
7News sat down with the mother on Friday, while her daughter was being evaluated and interviewed by detectives. We’re not sharing the mom’s identity to protect her daughter.
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The mom said she got a call Sunday night, “regarding my daughter and a sexual assault that happened at school involving my daughter last Monday.”
However, it didn’t come from the place or people she said she counted on.
“I never got a phone call from the school, an email, a text, nothing to say,” said the mom. Nothing happened until a week later.
That’s when a detective called and told her what happened.
“She was forced to give oral sex to a student in school,” said the mom.
Her 13-year-old daughter is disabled, autistic, and has challenges communicating.
The mom said she was sending her daughter to school without knowing what happened.
“I noticed a little behavior, emotional changes,” said the mom. “When I got that call now, it makes sense to, you know, what you because of what she had experienced at school and to come home and she didn’t say anything or no one had called me and just like it breaks my heart.”
7News obtained a copy of the police report, which confirms the youth investigative branch is investigating what happened to her daughter as sexual abuse. It shows that a Kelly Miller Middle School social worker reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last week.
“I just hope that I can be able to get her back on the right track. From all the trauma, on top of trauma,” said the mom. “To be able to grow and not have to hold that in the back of her head that she experienced in school, which should have been her safe place.”
7News started reaching out to DCPS just after 12:30 p.m. to ask if the students suspected of the abuse have been removed from the school, and why parents wouldn’t have been notified about the incident. They did not get back to us until after our first report aired. They did not answer either question. They provided the following statement.
A district spokesperson provided this statement:
At DC Public Schools (DCPS), student safety and wellbeing are paramount, and the district treats any allegation of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness. DCPS will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter is investigated.
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and our obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we are unable to provide comment on individual student cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be accessed by calling 1-800-656-4673.
Washington, D.C
Canvas cyberattack leaves many DC-area school systems without service
WASHINGTON – A cyberattack on the Canvas learning management system left thousands of schools and universities offline Thursday, disrupting access to grades, assignments, course materials and lecture videos as students prepared for finals.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, according to the Associated Press. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or knocked offline, the AP reported.
READ MORE: Canvas outage impacts thousands of schools, universities: Hacker group reportedly takes credit
The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Many school systems and universities in the Washington, D.C. region rely on Canvas as their primary learning management system.
In Montgomery County, school officials said access to the platform will remain unavailable “out of an abundance of caution” while they work to understand the impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities. Families were urged not to log in until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom vendor resolve the issue.
The University of Maryland said it does not yet know when Canvas will return to service.
Canvas Cyberattack DC-Area School Systems Affected
Montgomery County Public Schools
Canvas (myMCPS Classroom) owned by Instructure Inc., is used by the school district as its learning management system. Due to a reported global cybersecurity concern involving Canvas, and impacting numerous school systems, universities, corporations in Maryland, other states, and worldwide, thus access to myMCPS Classroom has been disabled.
Out of an abundance of caution, access to the system will remain unavailable while we work to better understand the full impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities involving information connected to the platform. Please do not attempt to log in to the platform until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom (Canvas) vendor have resolved this problem.
At this time, appropriate MCPS technology and security staff are continuing to assess the situation and coordinate with the vendor. We understand this disruption is frustrating and appreciate your patience as this work continues.
myMCPS Classroom provides access to student information such as grades, assignments, attendance, and course materials, and is an important tool for students and families to monitor academic progress. Additional information on how students can access resources and functions in myMCPS Classroom will be provided as soon as possible.
Updates will be shared as soon as additional information becomes available.
University of Maryland
Canvas may appear to be up right now, but please to not use it. DIT Security is not confident the system is safe to use right now. Please check back here before using Canvas.
For our faculty who use Canvas, we have created this guidance, and we will continue adding resources tomorrow. Please stay in touch with your students as we adapt to this evolving situation.
Prince George’s County Schools
There has been a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, our Learning Management System.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified us of a global cybersecurity incident affecting 275 million users across numerous educational institutions. We have been informed that PGCPS was one of the many impacted organizations. While personal information including names, emails and Student IDs was impacted, NO sensitive information, such as dates of birth, passwords, financial information, was involved. PGCPS does not store that type of sensitive information or parent information in Canvas.
We are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of exercising caution when communicating by email and remaining vigilant regarding suspicious messages, spam, phishing attempts, or other potentially fraudulent communications.
We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with Instructure.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Due to the ongoing issues with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), AACPS will operate schools on Friday, May 8, 2026, without the use of the LMS. The Virtual Academy will also remain open with altered instructional delivery that will also not use the LMS. Further instructions will be communicated from the school principal. The latest information regarding the breach and the status of school district operations can be found at www.aacps.org/canvasbreach.
Prince William County Public Schools
We are aware of the error appearing when accessing Canvas and are actively working with the vendor to resolve it. The issue is not just impacting PWCS, and is widespread and national in scope. We will provide updates when the vendor has resolved the issue.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.
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