DC Police Chief Pamela Smith Resigns Amid Federal Pressure

Washington, D.C., Police Chief Pamela Smith announced her resignation Monday after serving just two and a half years in the position, amid mounting pressures and controversies surrounding her leadership of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

“There comes a time when you just know it’s time,” Smith told Axios, which first reported her departure. In a formal statement, she expressed gratitude for her tenure, calling the role “the greatest honor of my career,” and thanked Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council for their support.

Smith’s resignation comes during a tumultuous period for the nation’s capital, as the Trump administration took unprecedented control of the city’s police department earlier this year, deploying federal law enforcement throughout Washington. This federal intervention created significant tensions between local and national authorities over policing jurisdiction and priorities.

Mayor Bowser praised Smith’s work, particularly noting her resilience in the face of what Bowser described as “attacks on our city’s autonomy.” The federal takeover of policing functions has been a point of contention for D.C. officials, who have long advocated for greater local control over city operations.

One of the more controversial aspects of Smith’s tenure has been allegations that MPD officers assisted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in immigration enforcement activities. Smith has consistently denied these claims, stating emphatically to reporters: “We are not aligned with ICE. We do not, and have not since the crime emergency, worked alongside ICE.”

Perhaps more damaging to Smith’s leadership have been internal accusations from within her own department. Approximately three dozen rank-and-file officers and detectives have filed complaints with the Justice Department, alleging that department leadership instructed them to reclassify crimes to artificially improve the city’s crime statistics.

The allegations suggest that serious offenses were downgraded in reports, with some precincts reportedly containing as many as 150 potentially misclassified incidents in the Southeast D.C. Seventh District alone. According to officers’ testimonies, supervisors later upgraded charges in about half of these cases.

“I as the chief of police never, would ever say to anyone to alter stats,” Smith asserted on Monday, directly addressing these allegations.

The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the potential manipulation of crime data, operated from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office. The House Oversight Committee is conducting a parallel inquiry into the matter.

This controversy emerges against the backdrop of conflicting narratives about crime in the District. City leadership and Democratic officials have pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low, while critics question the accuracy of these figures given the allegations of data manipulation.

The federal takeover of policing in the District has resulted in hundreds of arrests as part of what the Trump administration has characterized as a crime crackdown. Fox News commentator Jeanine Pirro, who now serves as U.S. Attorney for the District, has publicly hailed the intervention as a “blueprint” for law enforcement nationwide.

Smith’s departure highlights the ongoing challenges facing the District’s law enforcement community, caught between federal intervention, accusations of impropriety, and the everyday challenges of policing the nation’s capital. It also raises questions about the future leadership of the MPD and whether the next chief will continue to face similar pressures from federal authorities.

The mayor’s office has not yet announced an interim police chief or details about the search for Smith’s permanent replacement, leaving questions about the continuity of law enforcement leadership during this transition period.