The annual D.C. Council hearing this week to evaluate the police department and its chief began not with an examination of mounting crime but with a stinging critique of troubles within the force.
The committee chair read a list of misconduct reports, including a new allegation revealed earlier this week that a lieutenant was suspended amid a federal investigation involving an extremist group. Then, current and former female officers suing the agency testified about times they said they were sexually harassed or discriminated against, some breaking down in tears.
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During the Thursday hearing on Zoom, Police Chief Robert J. Contee III was pressed about the department’s response to violent crime, particularly a surge in carjackings. Activists spoke out on what they see as a lagging effort by the city to embrace police reform that gained momentum during a wave of social justice protests in 2020. And several people voiced support for police.
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The testimony demonstrated the challenges Contee and council members face heading deeper into this year, as the city contends with continued gun violence, dissatisfaction by some who accuse police of running roughshod over people’s rights, and discontent within the department’s ranks.
“It’s evidence of an unaddressed toxic culture and the MPD has a duty to address it,” Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who chairs the public safety committee, said of allegations of wrongdoing. “The MPD as an institution has not delivered on a promise of change,” he said. “Police reform is part and parcel of reducing violent crime.”
Contee, a District native who has begun his second year heading the department, said he is taking steps to address internal concerns and “make sure we have a fair, inclusive environment for our police.”
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In addressing the response to crime, the chief made a case that the entire criminal justice system needs to be held accountable and described the challenges police face amid continued homicides and a spike in carjackings, with a force that is more than 260 officers smaller than in the fall of 2020.
Current and former Black female police officers sue the District
Contee, who said juveniles have been responsible for many of the carjackings, said he supports diverting youths into programs instead of arresting them for minor offenses, but he questioned “whether we have struck the appropriate balance between care and accountability” for more serious youthful offenders, such as those with guns.
He said such youths are at “extreme risk” for later being involved in shootings and homicides. “I am sounding the alarm of what I’m seeing daily,” the chief said.
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Homicides in the District last year surpassed 200 for the first time since 2003, and gun violence has continued in the new year. Those killings, along with a surge of carjackings in many neighborhoods, have brought a heightened focus by residents on safety.
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Some of those same council members who two years ago supported a budget to cut police funds to confront crime as a public health crisis, which police say led to the smallest force in two decades, are facing an uprising of constituent anger, and some have now called for more investment in police.
During the hearing, Allen said it is not a choice between changing police culture and stopping crime. “That either or scenario is ridiculous,” said Allen, who chairs the committee on the judiciary and public safety. “District residents want safety, and they want change.”
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Patrice Sulton, a member of the Police Reform Commission that recommended dozens of changes for policing in the aftermath nationwide demonstrations over the murder of George Floyd, said reform has stalled and took her anger out on Allen and the council.
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At the hearing, she accused lawmakers of “abdicating their responsibility and refusing to intervene” while she said police stall on making changes her group recommended.
Sulton said “we need new laws” to force police to change, and she said Allen’s committee has passed “zero bills of consequence” since the reform panel’s report issued last April. She said, “People around the globe called for changes I’ve been fighting for all my life, and this council did nothing.”
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Council members did not directly address her complaints, echoed by several other activists who were among the 60 people who testified.
Police lieutenant suspended over alleged ties to fringe group
Current and former female police officers who are part of different lawsuits filed against the District over the past five months testified about relentless discrimination and being retaliated against by coming forward. They alleged coverups by superiors, an indifferent internal affairs bureau, and an equal opportunity commission they described as corrupt, making secret deals to protect certain officers.
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Felicia Carson, a 29-year veteran D.C. police officer who was fired in 2019, said she was ousted from the internal affairs unit when she charged a White officer with misconduct after she accused him of arresting a young Black male for no reason, grabbing him by the throat and then lying about it.
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She said her report was rewritten and the complaint against the officer disappeared after she was removed from the unit. “The offending officer is still employed by MPD while the young male has a criminal record he does not deserve,” Carlson said. Her suit alleges a pattern of ousting Black women from the internal affairs unit.
When asked later about the testimony from Carlson and several others, Contee said, “Those types of behavior are not something I will tolerate.” He said the department is hiring a female chief equity officer.
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Allen also questioned Contee on the suspended lieutenant in the intelligence branch who is accused of improper contacts with a prominent member of the extremist group Proud Boys.
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The chief said he is limited in what he can say because of a pending federal investigation, but he did tell Allen that as of Thursday, no criminal charges had been filed. Police officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the investigation have identified the officer as Lt. Shane Lamond, a 22-year veteran of the force.
Contee would not say how police learned of the allegations, but he said investigators are researching the lieutenant’s past to see any red flags had been missed, and whether anyone else might be involved.
Officials have not offered details of the allegations, and Lamond was unable to be reached for comment. Contee said an outside review of the department that began a year ago to identify and possibly root out officers who align themselves with extremist groups should wrap up by June.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Thursday she didn’t know specifics about the investigation but added, “I know it involves their investigations involving January 6,” referring to the insurrection at the Capitol.
“I don’t think there’s anything to suggest that we should have a widespread concern,” she said.
correction
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Patrice Sulton. The article has been corrected.
Jenna Portnoy contributed to this report.