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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reiterated Monday that her police chief is still in charge, even as several states have committed to sending members of the National Guard to support President Donald Trump’s administration’s crackdown on crime.
“Let me correct you, there is no takeover,” Bowser said speaking to reporters Monday morning. “What there is, is a surge in federal law enforcement. And that surge in federal law enforcement necessarily has to coordinate with the Metropolitan Police Department under the leadership of Pamela Smith, the chief of police.”
Thanks to the outcome of a lawsuit brought by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Smith was reaffirmed as the leader of D.C. police, and she is to coordinate actions with federal law enforcement partners.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi tried last week to install Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terrence Cole as “emergency police commissioner” and align the D.C. police reporting structure under the federal government. But D.C. filed a lawsuit to block that.
At a news conference announcing renovations to Stoddert Elementary School a week before classes are to begin in the District, Bowser took the chance to again push back on the response to what Trump called a dire public safety emergency in D.C.
“It doesn’t make sense. You know it doesn’t make sense,” Bowser said of the deployment of federal law enforcement and the D.C. National Guard to quell what Trump called a surge in crime, which is not supported by statistics.
The Department of Justice’s own analysis, released in January, showed overall crime was down to a 30-year low in the District. And statistics from D.C. police released this month show violent crime is down another 26% over this time last year.
“The numbers on the ground in the District don’t support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said.
Over the weekend, the governors of West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio pledged to send 400, 200 and 150 National Guard members respectively to D.C. to assist in the patrols. On Monday, three more Republican governors approved the deployment of National Guard troops to D.C., pledging more than 1,100 soldiers — and increasing the number of participating states to six.
Asked whether she thought sending in the guard from other states diminished her authority, Bowser said, “I don’t have any authority over the D.C. guard or any other guards, but I think it is, kind of makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime.”
On Sunday, the White House said that since the operation launched on Aug. 7, authorities have arrested more than 300 people — half of them undocumented immigrants — and confiscated 53 firearms.
Bowser assured residents, the District will follow the law but operate in a way that keeps people safe.
“For people who are anxious and afraid, I’m sorry that this happening,” Bowser said. “But the change that needs to happen is with comprehensive immigration reform at the national level. There needs to be a pathway to citizenship for hardworking people who have made this country their home, and we need to separate the discussion of enforcement against violent offenders and everyday hardworking people who have made this country their home.”
Some have complained that several officers participating in the operation wore masks. Bowser said there would be no reason for a law enforcement official to wear a mask, and she said she’ll continue working on that with the federal partners.
Bowser said she would continue to work alongside Bondi as the mission continues.
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