Four women climbed over fence and did whatever they wanted in Taddle Creek Park when a good Samaritan tried to stop them and asked if they were on a tour of the land. The women punched and slapped the male naturalist in the face before he was able to stop the women and take them into custody, WTOP reported.
Three of the women are Florence Rosberg’s cousins — Selina Ahlen, Daisy Ahlen and Samera Ahlen. A fourth woman, Tracey Koutsvita, is a friend of Selina and Daisy’s.
The women are accused of attacking the park naturalist in the middle of the day during a park tour. At the same time, someone in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department patrol van near the park, identified only as an officer, took a picture of the attack and texted it to the police union president.
The D.C. Police Protective Association sent the photo to The Washington Post on Tuesday. The photo was printed in Wednesday’s newspaper.
The women were given 24-hour stays at the Loudoun County Detention Center.
For days, Rosberg’s family gathered to look for her.
“It’s really saddening and heartbreaking that this could happen,” said the victim’s mother, Blanca Plavan-Rosberg. “A group of girls went up to a group of boys and said, ‘Let’s have a fight.’”
Plavan-Rosberg said she is concerned that the assaults could be racially motivated. “The attackers are white and the children, if my daughters were involved, are black,” she said.
She said she wants answers as to why no one was immediately arrested and charged. “Is it the nature of the crime itself that, rather than be dealt with, they’re going to be left to stew and suffer in silence and sorrow?” she said.
Ahlen, Selina Ahlen and Samera Ahlen have been charged with assault and battery on a government official, according to the court document.
Selina Ahlen’s sister, Taegar Ahlen, said her sister had no idea that any of the actions could have been racially motivated. “She just got attacked by these girls,” she said. “She had no idea what was going on. They’re just not nice girls. They were mean. They were just rude.”
Plavan-Rosberg said her daughter was set to run for the Parks & People Board. She was a star athlete and a human rights volunteer for several years, her mother said.
“Every time Florence puts on her coat, she knows she’s going to walk through the park, which is her home,” Plavan-Rosberg said.
Selina Ahlen was on a human rights-based tour of the park Wednesday when she was arrested. When an officer approached her, she allegedly struck him. While in police custody, she was hit with a urine-filled cup, her family said. When she was released later that night, she was charged with two more misdemeanors and a probation violation.
It’s possible the women could face additional charges in Rosberg’s death.
Rosberg, of Reston, died May 11 after she was found unresponsive at Taddle Creek Park. Her death was ruled an accident, but the city has not released an official cause of death. The Virginia Medical Examiner is still investigating the case.
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