As it turns out, law enforcement do know what they’re talking about.

Public safety decisions should not be subject to political whims.

Two juveniles were stabbed in D.C.’s Dupont Circle Park on Saturday evening, and one victim was shot in the foot nearby, just hours after city workers carted away anti-scale fencing that had enclosed the park in preparation for WorldPride celebrations. The fencing came down after days of back-and-forth between the Metropolitan Police Department, the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police, and the D.C. government about whether to keep the historic park open during the celebrations. The park is known as a hub for the District’s gay community.

The U.S. Park Police, who maintain the circle, had shut down the park Friday, citing public safety concerns due to incidents of violence and vandalism following Pride celebrations in past years. Less restrictive measures would not be sufficient and would strain police resources, a National Park Service official wrote at the time. 

But by dawn Saturday, Mayor Muriel Bowser had issued a new directive: Bring down that fence. Hours later, violence ensued — just as law enforcement said it would. 

Gunshots and violence in Washington, D.C., are hardly unusual. When I asked a security guard who was there that night whether violence in the area was common, he looked at me like I’d asked if that big white building on Pennsylvania Avenue was the White House.

“Do you know where you are?” he asked.

So considering the area’s track record with crime, the most concerning part is that the mayor ignored the safety concerns of law enforcement to make a politically favorable move and open the park. Bowser — who marched in the parade — assumed responsibility for reopening the park to the public in a press conference Monday.

“Unfortunately, many of the concerns that the chief expressed related to the circle and the people who came to the circle this year and in previous years came to fore,” she said. “While there was many hours of successful fun and celebration, there were also incidents of violence at the park. So I want to be clear. All decisions related — all the political decisions related to opening the park — are mine. And the responsibility for keeping the park open on that day was ours in the District of Columbia.”

She went on to thank the National Park Service for being responsive to her request and to thank law enforcement for their work over the weekend. The police deserve gratitude for taking on the burden of patrolling the park once opened and for their quick action securing the area after the incident. 

The fact that the violence occurred during an event celebrating LGBT culture is irrelevant. Those involved likely had nothing to do with WorldPride, the police confirmed. Any large festival that brings crowds into a populated urban area poses serious security risks, and security measures that can be taken beforehand should be taken. Panic could have caused serious damage when that gunshot rang in a circle filled with thousands.

When asked if she had any regrets about opening the park, Mayor Bowser said she has regrets whenever violence occurs but made the decision in an attempt to balance the desires of the community with the need to ensure public safety. 

“If we were standing here this morning and we hadn’t opened up the park, you would have been asking me were there any regrets for not pushing hard to have a D.C. park open that’s important to the LGBT community during Pride,” she said. “I think it would be a different question.”

Bowser seems to have weighed the need to publicly align herself with the Pride movement against law enforcement’s concerns for public safety. The former won out, briefly. But following the guidance of the Park Police should never have been a political decision.

“A key takeaway that is not just for us but for the entire community is that we have to listen to the police. We have to listen to law enforcement,” Bowser said. “We have to assume they are making and advancing the best decisions with the information they have . . . even with the balance that we had of putting on a global event.”

As it turns out, law enforcement do know what they’re talking about.