Chief Robert J. Contee III announced on Friday night that seven D.C. officers have been demoted from the specialist crime-suppression unit of the Metropolitan Police Department and placed on desk duty or administrative leave due to alleged wrongdoing.
According to Contee, the department’s internal affairs investigators discovered that the seven people—two of whom are sergeants—had repeatedly stopped individuals and taken their firearms without making an arrest or obtaining a warrant.
During a press conference, the police chief stated, “We have a responsibility to make the community safer, including bringing bad folks to jail.” “Letting people, who may be armed felons, go about their business in some cases and reclaim the firearm does not make the community safer.
I’m confident that it won’t be long until they have another gun in their possession. The seven cops are all assigned to the Seventh District, which covers the Washington Highlands, Anacostia, Barry Farm, and Naylor Gardens communities and has some of the highest rates of violent crime in the city. You may also read another trending article, ‘Rainbow Fentany’ Has Been Discovered In Oregon And Idaho, But Not In Washington!
Investigators identified the instances where officers’ reports and the body camera footage did not match after reviewing three months of police body camera data. Weapons were reported. They were utilized as proof. They had been located.
The people that are missing are the suspects, according to Contee. “The suspects were permitted to leave without being arrested, or at the very least, an arrest warrant should have been issued,” The announcement comes as D.C. struggles to deal with a decade-high level of violent crime.
Contee and Mayor Muriel Bowser have frequently criticized the lack of responsibility for those possessing illicit firearms, especially on the part of federal prosecutors who have been charged with abandoning numerous cases.
City officials enjoy specialized squads that eliminate illegal narcotics and weaponry. The most recent recovery period, from September 19 to 26, saw 53 illegal firearms seized. The police agency releases information on firearm recoveries weekly, along with suspect names.
Contee said that is “not the way we train,” declining to comment on why the seven officers chose not to make any arrests. I want to reassure every member of our community that we are working together U.S. Attorney’s Office and other partners to make Sur ensures inquiry is carried out entirely, quickly, and thoroughly as well as in a way that upholds community confidence; he continued.
Seven DC police officers from a violent-crime unit are under investigation after they allegedly confiscated illegal guns without making arrests. https://t.co/oOr4jpDFaR
— National Review (@NRO) October 3, 2022
The DC police union has retaliated. “This is exactly what [Contee] and MPD managers urged the officers to do — get the firearms off the street and acquire direct proof linking the pistol to the person,” the union’s chairman Gregg Pemberton told the Washington Post.
DCist asked Pemberton for more information regarding the officers’ training, but Pemberton did not respond immediately. After learning about a separate complaint against Seventh District officers, the police first learned of the alleged misbehavior.
Internal affairs investigators were initially aware of two officers who did not arrest a suspect’s seizure of an unlawful semiautomatic weapon on September 11 due to this complaint.
Investigators found five more people who exhibited similar behavior after poring over months’ worth of police body camera data. Federal partners have not been requested to intervene as the department’s probe is still underway.
The remaining members of the crime suppression squad for the Seventh District have reportedly been reassigned as a preventative measure, according to The Washington Post. According to Contee, departmental resources have been reorganized to care for the district. DCist’s request for comment received no immediate response from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Final Lines
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