Earlier this week, the House Oversight Committee released an interim staff report on its investigation into Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela A. Smith, which revealed that she had “pressured and at times directed commanders to manipulate crime data to maintain the appearance of low crime in the nation’s capital.”
The committee opened its investigation in August after whistleblowers came forward to accuse the MPD of “deliberately misclassifying crimes to present a false narrative of a safer city.”
The report, titled Leadership Breakdown: How D.C.’s Police Chief Undermined Crime Data Accuracy, can be viewed here.
According to a news release from the Committee, House investigators interviewed the commanders of D.C.’s seven patrol districts, who “described an environment under Chief Smith marked by fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation—conditions they said directly contributed to declining morale and the loss of experienced officers and commanders.”
Earlier this month, Smith announced her resignation from the force, effective Dec. 31, 2025. Despite evidence to the contrary, she portrayed the decision as voluntary in her statement. It began:
I am deeply humbled, grateful, and deeply appreciative of my time with the District of Columbia. Serving as Chief of Police has been the greatest honor of my career, and I want to extend my sincere thanks to Mayor Muriel Bowser for appointing me to this position and to the DC Council for their steadfast support throughout my tenure.
Smith addressed colleagues during her “walkout” ceremony on Friday. Any trace of the gracious tone she’d struck in her retirement statement was gone, as the outgoing leader lashed out and delivered a pointed message “to her haters.”
Smith forcefully denied claims that she manipulated crime data, and framed her defense in religious language, shouting:
Never would I compromise my integrity, never would I compromise 28 years in law enforcement for a few folks who couldn’t stand to be held accountable. And if I had to do it all over again, I’d do it again.
Toward the end of her 13-minute speech, Smith calmly remarked, “So I’m going to the Bible when I say to my haters, [dramatic pause] F you.”
She claimed, “The same folks who said in that report that they changed their numbers, and I did not — the report is very clear — I did not direct anyone. You should investigate those folks.” And with that, she left the podium.
After watching the clips from Smith’s speech on X, one commenter posted, “I can only imagine what it was like to work for her.”
Local news outlet DC News Now reported that there were 274 homicides in D.C. in 2023, the year Smith was appointed to her position. The following year, the number fell to 182, a decline of more than 33%.
Year-to-date, there have been 126 homicides in the city, which can almost certainly be attributed to President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge, which launched in August.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced this week that she has appointed Jeffery Carroll as interim police chief. According to a news release from her office, Carroll currently serves as MPD’s Executive Assistant Chief of Specialized Operations, a position to which he was appointed by Smith in November 2023.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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