The District’s top cop said Wednesday the federal agents flooding the city have made more than 100 arrests on gun, drug and even homicide charges that her short-staffed police force didn’t have the manpower to tackle.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said the extra patrols of FBI, DEA and Homeland Security agents, initiated by President Trump’s federal takeover this week, have let authorities nab criminals who would otherwise remain on the loose.
“Remember, you’re talking about 500 additional personnel in the District of Columbia,” Chief Smith told Washington’s WTTG on Wednesday. “As you know, we’ve talked about the fact that we’re down in numbers with our police officers, and so this enhanced presence clearly is going to impact us in a positive way.”
Mr. Trump said he will push Congress for a long-term extension of the emergency declaration, which can last only 30 days, to further his mission of reducing lawlessness in the nation’s capital. The bill faces steep odds at passing since it would require Democrats to throw their support behind it.
For now, the federal muscle has been a boon for the Metropolitan Police and its roster of 3,100 sworn officers — a 50-year low for the department that saw mass attrition during the “defund the police” movement in 2020 and never recovered.
The White House said Wednesday the takeover has accrued 103 arrests since federal authorities were dispatched last week.
An additional 43 people were taken into custody Tuesday, officials said, for a homicide, guns, drugs and being in the country illegally.
Videos circulating on social media showed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making daytime arrests Tuesday at the Home Depot near Rhode Island Avenue Northeast. By nightfall, Homeland Security officers were arresting suspects in Columbia Heights in Northwest.
Officials said more than 1,450 authorities took part in Tuesday’s crackdown. About 750 were from the Metropolitan Police and 30 were National Guard troops.
About 800 guardsmen are expected to be in the District during the emergency deployment, but their presence has been less noticeable just days into the federal takeover.
The White House said there will be a “significantly higher” number of guardsmen in public view by Wednesday night. Further, federal agents will be patrolling the city all day, rather than just focusing their enforcement efforts after dark.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, who has called the takeover “unsettling and unprecedented,” said Wednesday she welcomes the federal help since her cops are stretched so thin.
She added that a more lasting solution is bringing MPD’s officer numbers up to 3,800 so they can cover the District effectively.
“To the extent that you see the federal surge getting more arrests, taking more guns, MPD officers would do the same thing,” Ms. Bowser told WTTG. “We need to be very, very focused on how we recruit, retain officers. How we make sure our policy environment promotes accountability for people who use guns in our city, and those things combined will make our city safe.”
Ms. Bowser did say getting firearms off the street was one of the shared goals she discussed in a Tuesday meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is overseeing the operation that’s bringing in all branches of federal law enforcement.
FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency was responsible for apprehending a murder suspect Monday during a warranted search, one of the 23 people taken into custody during the daylong operation.
The bulk of the FBI’s 10 arrests were focused on illegal guns and “multiple” people wanted for driving under the influence, Mr. Patel said.
“When you let good cops be cops, they can clean up our streets and do it fast,” the director wrote on X. “More to come. Your nation’s Capital will be safe again.”
Politicians on the D.C. Council, which is made up of nearly all Democrats, have said the federal takeover is an “intrusion” that is overblown, given crime statistics showing a 30-year low in violent offenses.
Metropolitan Police statistics show a dramatic decline in the deadly shootings, carjackings and stickups that terrorized residents in 2023 — the city’s bloodiest year this century.
But Mr. Trump says those numbers are crooked, pointing to the probe of the city police commander accused of manipulating data to hide how violent the District is.
The White House said the District has the fourth-highest homicide rate in the country, and its rate of nonviolent vehicle theft in the city is more than three times the national average.
Also part of the federal operation is the clearing of homeless encampments scattered around the capital. The White House said transients who don’t accept a shelter bed or treatment can expect fines or even jail time.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.