Dictionary.com defines “chain of command” thus:
Noun: a series of administrative or military ranks, positions, etc., in which each has direct authority over the one immediately below.
We’ve just found peak DEI. Dictionary.com doesn’t do pictures, but when you look in the dictionary under “DEI hire,” you find the photograph of DC Police Chief Pamela Smith. She obviously checks all the boxes.
Graphic: TikTok post
"Can you tell us what the chain of command is now?" a reporter was heard asking Smith during a press conference Tuesday morning.
"What does that mean?" the police chief responded.
The Police Chief of our nation’s capital, the woman at the top of the chain of command of that agency, doesn’t have a clue what a chain of command is. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, as clueless as she is, had more of a clue than Smith:
"Well, is it Pam Bondi speaking to the mayor? Is it you? How does this work?" the reporter continued, before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser stepped in to explain the department's chain of command following Trump invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act Monday, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital's police force.
So, she doesn’t know what a chain of command is. So what?
Graphic: X Post
In every occupation there is a chain of command, and this is particularly so for the police who are paramilitary organizations. Smaller agencies have patrolmen, sergeants, lieutenants and police chiefs. The larger the organization, the more ranks, including senior patrolmen, corporals, captains and assistant chiefs. Big city agencies mix military ranks with commanders, inspectors, assistants to the assistant deputy police chiefs and so on.
The chain of command is an essential element of our society. It lets us know who is responsible for those below them, and to whom deference must be paid. It provides accountability—theoretically.
In police work, it’s essential. As with the military, orders are given and must be obeyed without question. It’s a matter of life and death, though in police work to a lesser degree than in the military. A chief of police clueless about the chain of command is rather like an infantryman having no idea what a rifle might be.
Smith apparently has at least 25 years of police service, yet she attained the highest rank in the DC Police Department without knowing she was part of the chain of command? How is that possible? She certainly didn’t jump from patrolman to chief in one mighty bound. She had to have had multiple supervisors as she worked her way up the ladder, and at some time in those 25 years—perhaps at her initial police academy—someone must have uttered the words: “chain of command.” She must have been required to obey departmental rules and regulations? Apparently, not so much:
In 2024, Smith and several other DC officers marched in a DC Pride Parade in violation of regulations prohibiting marching in that parade in uniform. That’s a common regulation. Virtually every American police agency prohibits officers using their uniforms or police status to support or advocate for any political cause. Smith claimed to be unaware of that regulation and responded:
“I am proud to march in today’s Capital Pride Parade in full uniform to support our LGBTQ+ colleagues and to further our commitment to creating inclusive and supportive environments,” the chief said. “MPD will continue to support, and ensure security, at Pride events and different community focused events year-round,” she said.
In fact, prior to taking command of the DC Police, Smith was the department’s Chief Equity Officer. When she became Chief, despite serious manpower shortages, she fully funded and maintained the Department’s LGBT Liaison Unit. Even though Smith is apparently not “out,” her support for LGBT causes surely checked an additional DEI box.
Why did Donald Trump federalize the DC Police? A police chief more concerned with LGBT sensibilities and every facet of DEI rather than with fully staffing her patrol force might be one reason. Another might be a police chief who somehow skipped over basic, necessary police knowledge while being propelled up the DEI ladder. Yet another might be a police chief with more than a quarter century of experience who has no idea what a chain of command is.
Trump is also demonstrating, by crushing crime in DC, that the rulers of Democrat cities choose to condemn their citizens, many of them black, to life in lawless hellholes. You can bet those Democrat rulers know they're at the top of their chain of command.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.