According to Sgt.
Anna Rose of the U.S. Park Police, shortly after 5 p.m., officers detained the three teens at 12th Street and Jefferson Drive, Northwest, for illegally vending.
The teens, two of whom are 17 and the other 16, told officers they did not have a vendor’s permit, which is required to sell items on the National Mall, Rose said.
“Officers placed them in handcuffs for the safety of the officers and of the individuals,” Rose said on Friday.
Democratic D.C. Council member Charles Allen, who chairs the public safety committee, wrote a letter to Park Police Chief Robert MacLean on Friday, asking him to explain the agency’s actions.
"I doubt we would have seen little girls in pigtails handcuffed on the ground."
“I would appreciate your response in reviewing yesterday’s events.
The witness who took photos of the teens in handcuffs had a similar reaction to Allen.
"There’s obviously a racial disparity in how they are treating these young men and other vendors that we see on the mall," said Tim Krepp.
Read Allen’s full letter below.