Metropolitan Police Interim Chief Jeffrey Carroll said 13 officers, including an assistant chief and a precinct commander, have been placed on leave after they were linked to a scheme in which higher-ups were accused of manipulating crime data to make the District appear safer than it is.
The top cop said none of the 13 officers have been fired but are on administrative leave as the Metropolitan Police Department assesses the extent of the brass’ involvement.
Assistant Chief LaShay Makal, who oversaw patrols in every crime-troubled neighborhood east of the Anacostia River, was one of the officers placed on leave. She was replaced by former Fourth District Cmdr. Nikki Lavenhouse.
Second District Cmdr. Tatjana Savoy, whose precinct covered Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Glover Park, was also placed on leave. Chief Carroll said Cmdr. Christopher Dorsey, who was at the Office of the Field Commander, was moved into her position.
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“MPD cannot provide specific information on fines and internal investigations or proposed adverse actions against specific members,” Chief Carroll said at a press conference Tuesday. Our internal affairs bureau has completed an investigation into crime reporting. This investigation was referred to us earlier this year for the United States Attorney’s Office.”
In response to the reshuffling, the D.C. Police Union said 2024 crime data reported to the FBI showed a roughly 2% increase in violent crime, as opposed to the department’s self-reported drop of 28% — a year after the city endured a generational crime wave of killings, carjackings and robberies.
Chief Carroll said the Metropolitan Police is complying with the House Oversight Committee’s request to review the internal investigation into crime data manipulation. MPD has until May 12 to turn over its documents.
The department’s allegedly fudged numbers first came into the public eye last summer when former Third District Cmdr. Michael Pulliam was accused of downgrading certain offenses in official reports.
His suspension was held up by President Trump to support his summertime crime-fighting operation in the District, which saw thousands of National Guard troops deployed to the city and federal agents join MPD officers on patrol.
The House Oversight Committee skewered former Chief Pamela A. Smith in a December report, saying the MPD’s former leader forced them to fix the District’s crime numbers or risk demotions. House investigators gathered input from the commanders of the city’s seven police districts for their exposition.
The report said Chief Smith was hellbent on giving residents “the perception of low crime in the District,” which often involved commanders reclassifying arrests as less serious offenses so they wouldn’t be included in public crime updates.
Former Chief Smith excoriated the House Oversight report in her December resignation speech by saying, “Never will I ever compromise my integrity for a few crime numbers.”
The Office of the D.C. Inspector General also opened an investigation into accusations of the Metropolitan Police Department fabricating crime statistics.
