Ahead of his February start at the police department in Prince William County, Virginia, outgoing D.C. police Chief Peter 草莓传媒ham discussed crime and policing in the District on Friday.
which was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 草莓传媒ham shared his views on D.C.’s violent crime.
“If you look at crime right now across the city, it shows a 4% reduction in violent crime,” 草莓传媒ham said. “That doesn’t mean anything if gun violence is going up in your neighborhood, in your community.”
草莓传媒ham also said he wants to see a continued focus on reducing violent crime, and continue to crack down on police violence: “No life should unnecessarily be taken in the District of Columbia. You see the violent crime that we have. We just lost that little boy, Carmelo (Duncan), but just as important, we don’t want our police officers unnecessarily or unjustifiably taking a human life.”
He added that he’s concerned about budget cuts to the force and the reduction of 300 officers by October 2021.
“That takes us down to the size of a force that we had in 1999,” 草莓传媒ham said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I think you’re going to have a problem here.'”
In response to questions about controversies and disagreements during his time in office, 草莓传媒ham said he often thinks that his comments were taken out of context.
“Watch what I say, watch what I do and don’t believe what other people said that I have said or other people said that I have done,” 草莓传媒ham said.
After 31 years with D.C. police, 草莓传媒ham will head the Prince William County Police Department starting Feb. 1. He has been the chief of D.C. police since 2017.
草莓传媒 of 草莓传媒ham’s departure comes some five months after the D.C. Council voted to approve emergency legislation that includes sweeping police reforms. Both 草莓传媒ham and Mayor Muriel Bowser have opposed the council’s proposed budget cuts to the police department.
Before 草莓传媒ham’s 2017 confirmation, local activists voiced concern about his record on First Amendment activities. This year, the ACLU added D.C. police in a lawsuit over law enforcement actions to clear Lafayette Square of protesters in June. 草莓传媒ham has denied his department’s involvement.
An interim D.C. police chief has yet to be announced.
草莓传媒’s Abigail Constantino, Will Vitka and Dan Friedell contributed to this report.聽
