(NewsNation) — Washington, D.C., restaurateur Noe Landini tells NewsNation several of his employees have been attacked in both Chinatown and Capitol Hill as debates over crime in the district continue.
Some have criticized President Trump for deploying the National Guard as part of a crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital, but Landini, managing director and CEO of REX Management, told NewsNation he had seen examples of police being unresponsive or slow to respond at times.
“I’ve personally seen biker gangs cruise through the streets and police sit there,” Landini said. “I’ve seen no response time for crimes that are called in. So, it depends on how they’re utilized; is it a show of force? Is it the presence of them; would that help? I guess time will tell.
“It being acknowledged finally is really a breath of fresh air because this isn’t a new issue. This is something that’s been going on for a couple of years.”
Speaking on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Landini said employees had to be escorted to their vehicles after work following some workers being sexually assaulted or stabbed. A mysterious death was also reported by his restaurant group, which has gone unsolved.
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“In both Chinatown and Capitol Hill, believe it or not, we had a stabbing of a young lady walking to her car after work,” he said.
“We’ve had women sexually assaulted leaving Bar Deco in Chinatown,” he continued, leading to escorting them to their cars thereafter.
Landini closed popular Chinatown restaurant Bar Deco 18 months ago, in part due to safety concerns.
“We had to decide whether we were going to renew … because of that one year out of the pandemic and the crime issues, not going our consumers back in town, we made a decision — because the cost of doing business was so high — to just not go any further and take the risk,” he said.
He said “we could see the difference pretty significantly” in crime before and after the pandemic in the area, including stabbings and carjackings.
