13 DC police officials placed on leave, pending termination amid crime stat manipulation scandal

Over a dozen officials within the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department were placed on administrative leave on Monday amid allegations that the department manipulated its data to make crime appear lower.

During a Tuesday press conference, interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll announced that 13 officials had been placed on leave pending termination. Some of those individuals were already on leave “for other matters earlier,” he added.

‘The corruption that endangered lives, eroded trust, and allowed shooters, robbers, and predators to evade justice cannot be tolerated.’

None of the officials has been fired, Carroll said.

He explained that the department’s internal affairs bureau had completed an investigation into crime reporting following a referral from the U.S. Attorney’s Office earlier this year.

“There were allegations of misconduct that were made, and based on those allegations, members were investigated, and the outcome is related to these individuals,” Carroll told reporters.

Despite the crime stat scandal, the interim MPD chief insisted that the department had made “meaningful progress over the last three years in reducing crime.”

“Homicides, shootings, and carjackings have fallen steadily since 2023,” he said.

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Andrew Leyden/Getty Images

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been conducting its own investigation into the alleged manipulation of crime stats, including releasing an interim report in December that accused MPD leadership of pressuring and instructing commanders to downgrade crime classifications to lesser offenses.

Carroll noted that the department has been in communication with the committee concerning its probe.

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Pamela Smith, Jeffery Carroll. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Washington Post/Getty Images

The DC Police Union, which has long accused the MPD of manipulating data, welcomed the news that the department had taken action against multiple officials.

“Justice is being served,” Gregg Pemberton, president of the DC Police Union, stated. “The command staff officials responsible for this betrayal must be held accountable, not just for the sake of the thousands of dedicated MPD officers they undermined, but for the residents of the District of Columbia who deserve honest leadership and real public safety. The corruption that endangered lives, eroded trust, and allowed shooters, robbers, and predators to evade justice cannot be tolerated.”

Former Police Chief Pamela Smith resigned in December amid the allegations. She maintains that she “never would have encouraged, intimidated, retaliated, or told anyone to change their numbers.”

Former Police Commander Michael Pulliam was suspended last year after he was accused of participating in the alleged data manipulation.

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