D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced legislation Monday aimed at rolling back some of the city's sweeping anti-police rules and changes adopted in 2020 as the District grapples with an ongoing wave of shootings, robberies and carjackings.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during Adas Israel Congregation’s vigil for Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in Washington. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced legislation Monday aimed at rolling back some of the city’s sweeping anti-police rules and changes adopted in 2020 as the District grapples with an ongoing wave of shootings, robberies and carjackings.
“We have to have a policy environment that allows us to recruit and retain officers, and not lose our officers to the surrounding jurisdictions because our policy environment makes them scared to do their job,” Ms. Bowser said at a press conference outside MPD’s Fourth District station in Northwest. The 225 killings in the District mark the third year in a row the city has seen more than 200 homicides, which hasn’t happened in roughly two decades.The mayor’s legislation would also allow officers to review their body camera footage before filing paperwork and would more clearly define situations when an officer can pursue someone in their patrol car.
“This serves as another tool for to address drug-related crime on our District streets and protect the public from the dangers that are often reasonable and associated with sales, purchase and the use of illegal drugs,” Chief Smith said.New York rolled back its 2019 bail reform law earlier this year in light of the statewide crime spike that started after Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.
Most major cities experienced a violent crime spike in 2020 and 2021, but have started to see significant declines since then.Ms. Bowser, Chief Smith and Lindsey Appiah, the city’s deputy mayor for public safety, all pointed to the unintended consequences of the post-Floyd rules and restrictions on Monday.
Brooke Pinto, the Ward 2 Democrat and chair of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, said in a statement to The Washington Times that she will hold a hearing on the bill this fall. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, on the other hand, said the proposal is a misfire that doesn’t target the violent crime terrorizing locals.
Mayor Bowser’s proposed changes come as Republicans on Capitol Hill have held hearings to strafe the District over its public safety apparatus all year long. Republicans also spearheaded a bipartisan effort to overturn a massive rewrite of the District’s criminal code in the spring that was criticized for reducing penalties for most violent crimes.
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