All Hands on Deck for DC police this weekend

WASHINGTON - Residents are reacting to video of a fight that broke out on top of a D.C. fire truck and the increasing violence around the city as police try to get a handle on the uptick in crime.

This weekend, it is All Hands on Deck for D.C. police. That means all available D.C. police personnel are placed on patrol this weekend starting on Friday at 3 p.m. and continuing through 6 a.m. Sunday.

But until crime statistics change for the better, Chrissy Dabney is making changes of her own to stay safe.

"I don't actually walk out late at night like I used to because I know that lately there's been a lot of shootings and robberies going on in the area," said Dabney.

And that's not all.

"I changed my choice of transportation, more than using the Metro, I drive," she said.

Dabney lives near the Northeast neighborhood where a melee erupted inside a building near escalators. Police say the chaotic scene played out nearly two weeks ago on Saturday shortly before 11 p.m.

When asked what she would do if she were there and this happened, Dabney said, "Try to call the police."

"On the street ... I guess I would call the police if I felt threatened, then I would alert some sort of authority figure," said a woman who would only identify herself as "Clare."

What happens when the authority figures are in fear themselves?

"If they're not out here, then I'm going to help, find somebody to help," said a woman who identified herself as "Mama O." "That's crazy right there."

In a recent case, firefighters stayed out of harm's way as a fight broke out atop their fire truck stopped in a Southeast neighborhood.

"There's no way in the world that should have happened with all the police that sit on each corner," said "Mama O."

This weekend, criminals may be hard-pressed to find a place to commit crime as police plan to flood the District in uniform.