More than 20 senior members of D.C.’s police department are on the way out.
A total of 21 senior police officers or senior sergeants will be leaving the department on April 30, according to D.C. supervisory public affairs specialist Thomas Lynch. Senior officers are those who’ve retired from the department, but returned to continue serving.
According to D.C. police, 12 of them won’t have their contract renewed due to a provision in the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 that prohibits the department from appointing police officers who have any serious misconduct in their background.
The controversial law, which aims to increase transparency and accountability for police officers, is a permanent version of emergency legislation passed in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. It was passed by the D.C. Council in December 2022. Both the House and Senate voted to disapprove the legislation, but President Joe Biden vetoed lawmakers’ efforts.
Here are some examples of what falls under “serious misconduct” for D.C. officers:
- Criminal arrests or criminal charges against a sworn member
- Protection order against a member
- Unlawful discrimination
- Unlawful stop, search and/or seizure
- Intentional failure to properly report use of force
- Positive drug tests
In a news release, the D.C. Police Union called the law “inarguably the worst piece of public safety legislation the D.C. Council has ever passed.”
“The bill prohibits the hiring of sworn personnel if they have ever received sustained discipline from any law enforcement agency. This includes the Metropolitan Police Department, meaning that these officers, who have spent their careers serving and protecting this city, are ineligible to be retained by the MPD due to prior administrative personnel matters, some of which are over 20 years old,” the union said in the release.
The union called on the council to repeal the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, saying the department has lost more than 1,400 members since it was first enacted as emergency legislation in 2020.
“Crime continues to plague our city. We cannot afford to lose any more members than we have already suffered,” the union said.
According to the union, the 12 officers to be dismissed due to the “serious misconduct” provision in the law have a collective 300 years of experience in law enforcement. Many of them have received commendations for their bravery and service, the union said.
The contracts of the nine other officers leaving the department were not renewed for “a variety of reasons,” none of which the department disclosed.
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