WALTER WASHINGTON
(Walter Edward Washington)
In the aftermath of the murder of Martin Luther King, riots broke out in Washington DC. Most of the rioting was in the Black neighborhoods and the rioters were looting the retail stores. Hoover instructed the mayor to authorize the use of deadly force to “restore law and order.” The mayor, generally not known for political courage and standing up to authority refused. He would only authorize deadly force to prevent serious injury or death to people. Washington not only refused Hoover, but at that point walked out on him. The riots subsided shortly thereafter.
Walter Edward Washington was an American civil servant and politician. He was chief executive of the District of Columbia from 1967 to 1979, serving as the first and only Mayor-Commissioner from 1967 to 1974 and as the first home-rule mayor of the District of Columbia from 1975 to 1979.
