Top DC police brass on leave after crime stat controversy
Washington, D.C., was seen as a national model for crime reduction last year after the police department released statistics showing violent crime had been cut by nearly a third. But after months of scrutiny and whistleblowing, the department says 13 officers are on leave for reasons “generally” tied to crime reporting.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Union confirmed Tuesday that “multiple top officials” — including “top brass command staff officials” — are facing termination. The Washington Post reported Monday night that Assistant Chief LaShay Makal and Second District Commander Tatjana Savoy had already been placed on administrative leave, along with Assistant Chief Andre Wright and former Third District Commander Michael Pulliam.
The disciplinary actions are directly related to an internal investigation into the department’s “manipulation of crime data,” the union said in a release.
D.C. Metro Police Chief Jeff Carroll said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the department wouldn’t comment on the results of the internal investigation but confirmed 13 officers were on leave.
“The administrative process must be allowed to take its course,” Carroll said. “We have made meaningful progress over the last three years in reducing crime.”
An attorney representing one of the affected officers told The Post that some cops are being wrongly swept up in the investigation, adding that it was common practice to revise police reports.
Cooked books
The department was under scrutiny from the Department of Justice as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which released a report disputing the district’s steep decline in violent crime. The report claimed that former Chief Pamela Smith “pressured — and at times directed — commanders to manipulate crime statistics to preserve the appearance of low crime in the nation’s capital.”
Smith resigned shortly after the report’s release and weeks before her tenure as chief ended.
“It should not have taken threats from Congress to complete this necessary investigation and deliver accountability,” the union said.
Trump takeover
The capital’s remarkable drop in violent crimes became a backdrop of balance for media outlets reporting President Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington D.C. law enforcement with the aid of National Guard troops in August 2025.
“As of 2024, violent crime is at a 15-year low in the district,” ABC reported. “This year’s numbers are on track to be even lower.”
Others highlighted the city’s homicide rate, a statistic unlikely to be reduced to a lesser crime, as justification for the federal takeover. The city had a homicide rate of 40 per 100,000 residents in 2023, a higher rate than all but 14 of the nation’s most populous cities.
However, the number of reported homicides dropped significantly over the past two years — from 274 in 2023 to 187 in 2024 to 128 in 2025, according to the Justice Department.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
