Community members called Contee “homegrown” and “reform-minded,” while lawmakers questioned him about police reform.
Newsham says he’ll be “committed to unbiased, fair, and constitutional policing, and everyone will know it—not just because we say it but because we do it.”
More than 97 percent of the 1,150 officers that responded said ‘no.’
The police chief spoke about the spike in crime and the tensions with activists who are opposed to more officers on the street during an appearance on the Kojo Nnamdi hour this morning.
Metro has taken its share of heat this year for the way it’s handled crime on its trains and in stations, so it’s not surprising that the agency sent out a triumphant press release this morning announcing the arrests of five people in connection with a robbery and assault on Dec. 9 that may have been fueled by homophobia. According to the release, Metro Transit Police have arrested one adult and four juveniles for assaulting…
Good morning, Washington. Are ya ready for some embezzlement scandal news? Of course you are! This morning’s update comes not from the embattled Office of Tax and Revenue, but rather from the D.C. Public Schools front office, as the Examiner reports that Eugene Smith, the former director of internal audits for DCPS, entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges of stealing nearly $50,000 from a charter school account. Smith was fired by the school system…
>> Oh noes! The Ron Paul blimp launch was delayed, and rescheduled for its D.C. appearance on Wednesday at 3 p.m. [via Wonkette] >> D.C.’s Beacon House Falcons of Edgewood Terrace won Pop Warner Football’s Pee Wee Division I Super Bowl championship on Saturday. [Notions Capital] >> Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey no longer thinks handgun bans are such a good idea now that he works for a city that doesn’t have one….
The Supreme Court has announced that it will take on Heller v. District of Columbia, the D.C. handgun case, and decide whether our city’s ban on handguns violates the Constitution. The Court will likely hear the case sometime in March, with a decision to come later in the session. The case will mark the first time the Court has taken up the meaning of the Second Amendment in almost 70 years, and the decision could…
Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has been named police commissioner of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, reports the Associated Press. Ramsey came to D.C. in 1998 after serving for 31 years in his hometown of Chicago, and became Washington’s longest-serving police chief in more than three decades, serving as top cop in the District until the end of 2006, when he was replaced by incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since we’ve had a little bit…
…ummm, nothing yet. According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court failed to reach a decision on whether or not to hear a case related to the District’s gun laws. Though a verdict from last week’s conference discussion was possible today, it seems that the nine justices haven’t yet decided if they want to take the case, which stems from a March decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit that ruled…