More than 20 top DC police officers to be fired, including several for serious misconduct

More than 20 high-ranking Washington, D.C. police officers will not return to the force after the end of the month, and more than half are due to alleged serious misconduct.

All 21 officers had retired and were rehired by the Metropolitan Police Department year after year, according to Fox 5 DC. All of these officers’ contracts end on April 30.

The Comprehensive Police and Judicial Reform Amendment Act of 2022 prohibited the police department from “appointing police officers who have any serious misconduct on their record,” police spokesman Tom Lynch told the outlet.

The law led to the dismissal of 12 of the agents.

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After first being introduced in the summer of 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota, the law was made permanent in December 2022 and transmitted to Congress without the signature of the mayor of D.C. Muriel Bowser, according to Fox 5 DC. .

The bill strengthens police disciplinary procedures, addresses police use of force, limits consent searches, strengthens the police complaints office, makes it easier for the public to access records and images of police body cameras when there is an investigation into possible police misconduct and prohibits police from entering. department hire officers disciplined or fired for past serious misconduct.

It also sought to “unequivocally strengthen” a 1985 law that banned chokeholds and neck restraints.

The contracts of the other nine officers were not renewed “for various reasons,” Lynch said, although the details of why these officers were fired are unclear.

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The Comprehensive Police and Judicial Reform Amendment Act of 2022 led to the dismissal of 12 officers. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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“The DC Police Union has been notified that twelve senior police officers will be dismissed from service in the coming months,” the DC Police Union said in a statement. “Senior police officers are officers who retired from the department, but returned to continue serving their community as sworn law enforcement officers. The reason MPD provided the Union for these layoffs is the Comprehensive Police Reform Act and the Justice of 2022”.

“This bill, which is arguably the worst public safety legislation the D.C. Council has ever passed, continues to wreak havoc on the police department. It is worth noting that this legislation was drafted and championed by [D.C. Councilmember] Charles Allen and his anti-police acolytes,” the statement continued.

The union adds: “The bill prohibits the hiring of sworn personnel if they have ever received sustained discipline from any law enforcement agency. This includes the Metropolitan Police Department, which means that these officers, who have passed their careers serving and protecting this city, are “Ineligible to be hired by MPD due to prior administrative personnel issues, some of whom are over 20 years old.”