WTOP’s Mark Segraves has the scoop that interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has advised Police Chief Cathy Lanier that she may legally fire the 17 officers (though Segraves now says it was 20 officers — that’s first time we’ve seen that number) she was forced to rehire. Lanier has reportedly already begun the process of terminating the officers again, who were originally fired for violations ranging from lying to get time off to posting personal information about a Washington City Paper reporter on the internet.
The department was forced to rehire the officers this week after a court determined that the internal affairs unit failed to meet a 55-day deadline for final decisions on sanctions. The MPD has had a track record of missing such deadlines over the course of the past decade, though these particular deadlines came and went before current Chief Lanier was in her job.
The police union is, predictably, making noise about filing an unfair labor practice suit. But Lanier is smart to be aggressive in making this huge mistake go away. If the Attorney General has advised her that firing these officers again is defensible under the law, then she surely could not choose to keep disgraced officers on the force, who bring embarrassment to the department and lower morale. This decision will likely play out in the courts for some time to come, but in the court of public opinion, this was the only way for Lanier to play it.
UPDATE: Mayor Fenty’s office has since put out a press release on the story. Quoted:
“We’re talking about serious offenses,” said Chief Lanier. “These cases raise profound issues of public safety in the District. We can’t have officers testifying in court when their credibility can’t be trusted.”
“The Chief’s action tells the public our officers will be honest and accountable as they perform their duties,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty. “At the same time, we’ll be sure to meet every relevant deadline in the future.”
The full letter from Nickles to Lanier describing the legal reasoning behind the decision is below the jump.
