DC police chief steps down ‘to spend more time with family’ after Trump crackdown
Smith, a longtime federal law enforcement official and former head of the U.S. Park Police, assumed command during one of Washington’s most volatile years in nearly two decades
Washington, D.C.’s police chief is stepping down after being catapulted into national attention as President Donald Trump moved to federalize Washington’s police force.
Pamela Smith, appointed in 2023, had been brought in to stabilize a department facing staffing shortages and a city shaken by post-pandemic crime.
But her tenure unfolded amid a fierce battle over authority, as Trump asserted federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed National Guard troops and federal agents alongside the city’s officers.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Smith’s resignation Monday and praised her for “stepping up” at a moment of “significant urgency.”
Bowser credited her with helping drive down violent crime, cutting homicides to an eight-year low and launching major policing initiatives, including a Real-Time Crime Center and new technology upgrades.