DC Police Chief Who Trump Tried To Oust During Takeover Finally Calls It Quits
Pamela Smith, the chief of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), is leaving the police department after two years in her role, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday morning. “Chief Smith…
Pamela Smith, the chief of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), is leaving the police department after two years in her role, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday morning.
“Chief Smith drastically drove down violent crime, drove down the homicide rate to its lowest levels in eight years, and helped US restore a sense of safety and accountability in our neighborhoods,” Bowser said in a statement. The mayor, who on Nov. 25 announced she would not run for reelection in 2026, gave no reason for Smith’s departure from the police force.
Smith’s exit follows a turbulent past several months between the White House and the local government of the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump has prominently criticized Washington’s local leadership as of late, claiming on Aug. 11 the city was entrenched in a “tragic emergency” of violent crime.
In August, Trump began an 30-day crime emergency takeover of the city’s police department, citing rampant crime, sending