A new House committee report alleges the former DC police chief pressured officers to manipulate crime data to create the appearance of a safer city.
The report, released Sunday by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, claims there was an active effort to downplay crime in the nation’s capital and that Chief Pamela A. Smith fostered a “toxic management culture.”
The report comes as President Donald Trump has sought greater control over law enforcement in the district, citing a public safety emergency in August. Trump deployed National Guard troops and put the police department “under direct federal control” for 30 days.
The committee’s report said the panel interviewed several current DC district police commanders who claimed Smith retaliated against officers who resisted pressure to skew crime data, including through demotions and transfers.
The report went further and stated Smith “propagated an ecosystem of fear, retaliation, and toxicity,” claiming she placed “intense pressure on district commanders to produce low crime statistics by any means necessary.”
“Every single person who lives, works, or visits the District of Columbia deserves a safe city, yet it’s now clear the American people were deliberately kept in the dark about the true crime rates in our nation’s capital,” House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement.
Smith, who was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2023, announced last week she was stepping down. In her resignation announcement, she said she was “profoundly grateful” to serve in her role and that she believes she left the department in a “strong position.”