Update:

Former MPD officer Medgar Webster Sr. has pleaded guilty in Superior Court to first degree felony fraud for committing time and attendance fraud. Webster was found to have been working a second job as security at Whole Foods while he claimed he was on duty for MPD.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and United States Attorney Matthew Graves announced the plea in a press release Tuesday. Webster is set to be sentenced on July 25.

Webster will have to pay nearly $34,000 in restitution as part of the deal.

“By stealing from the Metropolitan Police Department, Medgar Webster, Sr. not only committed a crime, but he violated the trust that District residents place in law enforcement officers,” Schwalb said. “The Office of the Attorney General developed our Public Corruption Section to ensure that those who misuse District government resources, threaten the integrity of government services, and undermine public trust are held accountable—and we are committed to continuing our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute these crimes.”

Officials say Webster never got permission for outside employment, but he worked 1,400 hours at three Whole Foods locations between January 2021 and April 2022. About 500 of those hours were when he also reported as on duty for MPD.

Original story:  The former vice chair of the D.C. Police Union, Medgar Webster Sr., was arrested on Saturday for allegedly defrauding the D.C. government by working a second job at Whole Foods Market while reporting on duty for the Metropolitan Police Department.

Webster is charged with first-degree felony fraud. If convicted, he faces steep fines or imprisonment of up to 10 years. A police department spokesperson tells DCist/WAMU that Webster is on administrative leave and has been proposed for indefinite suspension.

Washington City Paper first reported the news.

MPD paid Webster $33,845, including overtime and holiday pay, for hours he was simultaneously on the clock at Whole Foods, according to an arrest affidavit. Webster allegedly worked at two locations for the grocery chain between January 2021 and April 2022 and earned $45,946 at one of those stores along H Street Southeast.

D.C. officers are able to seek outside employment, according to police regulation, as long as it is authorized and does not “conflict or interfere” with department rules. But the affidavit says MPD never authorized Webster to work at Whole Foods. In addition, Webster allegedly worked 485 hours at Whole Foods at the same time he reported being on police duty, and nearly half of those hours were overtime so the department paid him additional funds.

Webster earned an hourly rate of $53.11 as an officer, which was adjusted to $79.67 for overtime work, per the affidavit.

The police spokesperson says agents discovered Webster was allegedly working a second job while on the clock at MPD during an “unrelated [Internal Affairs Division] investigation.”

Webster was being investigated for engaging in an “unwanted sexual contact” with an individual at Whole Foods on H Street SE, DCist/WAMU reported in April 2022, or the place of his second employment. The police spokesperson declined to comment further on the investigation into sexual abuse, but Webster was reportedly not able to exercise police powers subsequently.

Police Union Chair Greggory Pemberton tells DCist/WAMU that Webster resigned from his position as vice chair almost a year ago to pursue retirement. He declined to comment further. Webster’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Feb. 6: This post has been updated to include a comment from the police union chair.

May 16: This post has been updated to include the officer’s guilty plea.

Jordan Pascale contributed reporting.