Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday a plan to add 170 officers to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), a move that could cost $11 million.
According to a press release, MPD typically hires 250 officers each year. After the department’s budget was cut by $15 million in 2020, the department says it was left with a near-empty hiring pipeline. The department has only hired 42 new officers: 21 cadets who became recruits, 12 reinstatements, 8 senior police officers, and one leadership official.
Following a rash of violent shootings all across the city, DC Police Chief Robert Contee spoke passionately about what he called a “shrinking workforce” saying MPD was more than 200 officers short.
“What am I going to do with these resources?” he said. “People are really mad as hell right now, and I don’t blame them, because I am too … I think people are sick and tired of being sick and tired. I think that people want to ensure that there is accountability for what’s happening in our communities.”
As people across DC continue to see their neighborhoods be impacted by gun violence, Bowser said she has approved overtime to meet the urgent public safety demands, but said a long-term solution is needed.
I hope she can’t get one.
Almost 2 years later and the WOKE just woke!