Trump’s Department of Justice Attempts to Take Control of Washington D.C. Police Force

By Lauren Burke

Late on August 14, day four of a military and federal law enforcement occupation of Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered that the Police Chief of Washington, D.C., Chief Pamela Smith, be replaced in the chain of command by Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Cole was confirmed by the U.S. Senate less than a month ago. Cole’s previous position was as Virginia’s secretary of public safety and homeland security under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Cole has spent 22 years at the DEA. Even though violent crime is the lowest in the District of Columbia in three decades, Gov. Youngkin stated yesterday on WTOP that crime in D.C. is at “shockingly high levels,” citing no statistics, data, or evidence. Attorney General Bondi stated in a letter that Cole was to be the District’s “emergency police commissioner.” Bondi also requested the suspension of D.C. police policies.  Bondi also called for there to be limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb would swiftly communicate that they believed Bondi’s order was against the law. Though there were indications the Mayor would not go along with the order, there was no direct confirmation that city officials would defy the DoJ order. The Mayor complied with Trump’s order on Monday, citing an obligation to the President’s broad emergency powers. In a letter posted on social media, Mayor Bowser stated, “Let us be clear about what the law requires during a presidentially declared emergency: it requires the mayor of Washington, DC to provide the services of the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes at the request of the President.”

“We have followed the law,” Mayor Bowser continued. “In reference to the U.S. Attorney General’s order, there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official,” she added. The Mayor then posted a letter of legal opinion from DC Attorney General Schwalb that, in part, cited the “home rule” act and asserted the Mayor’s powers in emergencies. Over the last 72 hours, Washington, D.C., has witnessed an uptick in military and federal police presence that has included armored vehicles and members of the DC National Guard walking around in green military fatigues.

Late into the evening of August 14, federal police were seen removing homeless people from various locations, with members of the DC government observing in what appeared to be a joint arrangement. Mayor Bowser has long been criticized by advocates of the homeless for policies that are focused on removal rather than affordable housing. Mayor Bowser is expected to return from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, today after a one-day absence to meet her 7-year-old daughter at camp. DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, has been notably absent as the District of Columbia deals with President Trump’s attempt to take over authority in the city.

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