How crime reports can leave families in the dark

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym had just finished his summer internship in Washington when his life ended. The 21-year-old was walking near 7th and M Streets Northwest last June when a stray bullet hit him during a shooting. Police say the shot wasn’t meant for him, but that doesn’t bring him back. Three people have since been charged with first-degree murder in the case. Eric was supposed to graduate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a finance degree. Instead, his mother now sits through meetings and reads reports that weren’t available when her son was alive. A recent 554-page Internal Affairs report shows serious problems with how the D. C. Police Department handles crime data. Some robberies were recorded as thefts, assaults with weapons were downgraded, and certain shootings were labeled in ways that kept them out of violent crime totals.One officer admitted to changing nearly 300 cases. Because of that, 13 high-ranking officers are now on leave while officials decide what happens next. Eric’s mother worries that when crimes are reported incorrectly, offenders may think they can get away with more. She believes this kind of mistake can escalate into worse violence—like the shooting that took her son’s life. The report shows officers were under pressure to keep crime numbers low. But when crimes aren’t recorded the right way, the public doesn’t get a clear picture of what’s really happening in their neighborhoods. Families like Eric’s lose trust in the system. They feel unsafe even when they think they’re protected. Eric’s family received his college diploma and a special recognition from the governor this past weekend. For his mother, it’s not just about the paper or the award—it’s about whether others will face the same fate. She wants crime data to be accurate so future tragedies might be prevented. As the court case continues, Eric’s family keeps pushing for real changes. They want to know if the system will fix itself—or if another family will have to go through the same pain.