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Widow Of Killed DPW Employee Sues City

By: Elliott Francis // October 10, 2011
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The wife of a D.C. sanitation worker fatally shot last year at a Department of Public Works facility is suing the city, according to the Washington Post. Larry Hutchins, 51, was killed in October 2010 as he prepared for his shift in a trash truck lot in Northeast D.C. Another worker was also wounded in the shooting, which was never solved.

Hutchins' widow, Shadone Taylor-Hutchins, claims the city was negligent because the facility where her husband was killed lacked functioning security cameras or a guard, and was poorly lit, the Post reports.

All were items included in the recommendations of a security report released in April of that year. The suit claims if the guidelines had been followed, Hutchins would be alive today. 

Last year, DPW Director William Howland said he was unaware of the safety report, according to published reports. A spokesperson for the department declined comment on the lawsuit.

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