DC council chair says accusations of ‘cooking’ crime statistics is a lie
The chairman of the District of Columbia City Council is accusing the head of the local police union of lying about crime statistics in the district. D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton said lieutenants and captains are ordering officers who respond to felonies to write reports for lesser offenses, a tactic that’s being described as “cooking the books.”
When asked by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, if Pemberton is lying, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson quickly and unequivocally said, “Yes.”
Jordan followed up and cited testimony from a lawsuit in which senior officers were accused of altering crime statistics to make the city appear safer on paper.
“Sounds like you guys are cooking the books there. According to, this is under oath, from the deposition from this case,” Jordan said.
Mendelson wouldn’t say more, citing ongoing investigations into the matter by the Department of Justice, House Oversight Committee and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In response to Mendelson’s accusation, Pemberton said, “I hope that Chairman Mendelson has time to correct or amend his testimony, before he himself is investigated for perjury and lying to Congress.”
Hearing and funding
The accusation was made during a House Oversight Committee hearing, which focused on crime in the district. Democrats and district leadership repeatedly called for the restoration of $1.1 billion that was stripped from their budget after Congress passed a spending bill that forced D.C. to keep its 2024 spending level for 2025.
That additional $1.1 billion largely went to public safety and education.
“So lack of full autonomy also prevents us from using the money that we raised in taxes, like happened this year, taxes that we raised in the district cut from our approved budget, which forced us to cut services, including the pay raises that our police officers are due, being delayed until this October,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
The mayor aims to increase the Metropolitan Police Department’s staffing to 4,000 officers; they currently have 3,400. The council just approved a 13% pay raise for officers and improved retirement benefits as an incentive to stay with the department longer.
Bowser said that if they had the $1.1 billion back, they could hire 300 officers per year, increase recruitment bonuses and invest in patrol cars and training facilities.
The continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for seven weeks beyond Sept. 30 includes a provision to restore district funding. It’s not yet clear if Congress will be able to pass the measure in time. They have 12 days.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
