- 5 months ago
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser held a press briefing on Monday after President Trump announced that he would be taking over the DC Police Department.
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00:00Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Muriel Bowser. I'm the mayor of Washington, D.C.
00:06We are here at the John A. Wilson building, our city hall, to address today's announcement from the White House.
00:15So I'll have a short statement and then we'll be able to take a few questions.
00:21So let me start by saying this. Washington, D.C. is a beautiful city, magnificent city.
00:26We're home to 700,000 Washingtonians. We welcome millions of visitors every year from around our nation and around the world.
00:38We have the nation's premier park system, fantastic public schools, including a free and robust pre-K program starting at age three.
00:50We have a tremendous public transportation system and we have hardworking people here who are raising families, starting businesses and hiring workers.
01:04So it's very important to me that for all who live here and visit here, just know how beautiful our city is and how proud we are of all that we've accomplished here.
01:16We're unique in other ways as well. Though we pay taxes, in fact, we pay more than most states per capita.
01:29We're not a state. We don't control the D.C. National Guard. We don't have senators or full autonomy.
01:37Limited home rule gives the federal government the ability to intrude on our autonomy in many ways.
01:49I've said before and I'll repeat that I believe that the president's view of D.C. is shaped by his COVID era experience during his first term.
02:01And it is true that those were more challenging times related to some issues.
02:08It is also true that we experienced a crime spike post-COVID.
02:15But we worked quickly to put laws in place and tactics that got violent offenders off our streets and gave our police officers more tools.
02:28Which is why we have seen a huge decrease in crime because of those efforts.
02:36We have been able to reverse that 2023 crime spike.
02:43This year, crime isn't just down from 2023.
02:48It's also down from 2019 before the pandemic.
02:54And we're at a 30-year violent crime low.
02:58We're not satisfied.
03:01We haven't taken our foot off the gas.
03:04And we continue to look for ways to make our city safer.
03:10We know, however, as most have heard from the president's press conference,
03:16that he has prerogatives in D.C.
03:20unlike anywhere else in the country.
03:24Including his authority given by our Home Rule Charter to require the mayor,
03:30to require me, to supply services of the Metropolitan Police Department.
03:36And he also has control and the ability to deploy the National Guard.
03:42But let me be clear, as our Home Rule Charter is also clear,
03:48and the president's executive order restates.
03:53Chief Pamela Smith is the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
04:00And its 3,100 members work under her direction.
04:05The Home Rule Charter requires the mayor to provide the services of NPD
04:11during special conditions of an emergency.
04:16And we will follow the law.
04:18Though, there's a question about the subjectivity of that declaration.
04:23In fact, the chief has already provided a high-level liaison and point of contact
04:32with the federal government and made those initial contacts.
04:37The executive order is also clear that the president has dedicated his authority
04:44to make requests of us to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
04:49I have reached out to Attorney General Bondi and hope to schedule a meeting school soon.
04:56My message to residents is this.
05:00We know that access to our democracy is tenuous.
05:04That is why you have heard me and many, many Washingtonians before me
05:11advocate for full statehood for the District of Columbia.
05:16We are American citizens.
05:18Our families go to war.
05:20We pay taxes and we uphold the responsibilities of citizenship.
05:26And while this action today is unsettling and unprecedented,
05:31I can't say that given some of the rhetoric of the past that we're totally surprised.
05:38I can say to D.C. residents that we will continue to operate our government
05:45in a way that makes you proud.
05:48We will balance our budgets.
05:50We will deploy our services.
05:52Our kids are going to start school on August 25th.
05:56And we will work with the federal government to do the things that they should do for our city,
06:03including making sure that we have the judges that we need,
06:08including making sure that all federal parks are supported,
06:12not just with law enforcement, but with other clean and safe activities,
06:17and including making sure that our economy is supported by rational federal actions
06:26as it relates to the federal workforce, federal workers, and federal property in the District of Columbia.
06:34So with that, I want to ask Chief Smith to talk about her interactions with the federal forces,
06:42federal police and law enforcement that have been engaged in the District over the last several days
06:50in the strategy that she thinks would be important while we have additional federal police officers.
07:00Thank you, Madam Mayor.
07:02I'm Pamela Smith, the Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Department.
07:05And as the mayor stated, you know, we have a responsibility to support the executive order.
07:11And one of the roles that I have is to ensure that we work very collaboratively with our federal partners.
07:18I know that most of us know in this room and those of you that are watching on television
07:22that the efforts of the federal law enforcement officers began in our city on Thursday night.
07:28I met with the director of the U.S. Marshal, who has been at that point overseeing the operational component
07:36of how the federal resources will be allocated and deployed around our city.
07:42With that conversation, it was very, very important for me to ensure that not only do we work collaboratively
07:49with our federal partners, but we offer up areas across our city where we can work with them
07:54in areas where we know that we want to reduce crime.
07:58And so that was the effort on yesterday.
07:59We spent roughly about an hour just kind of planning and talking through what that's going to look like.
08:05On the heels of the announcement from the president today regarding the executive order
08:11and my directive from the mayor is that we will begin more intense planning efforts.
08:16After I leave this press conference, I've also met with one of the other liaisons
08:23that have been assigned to work with the U.S. Marshal along with myself regarding the efforts
08:30around the city for how we will allocate resources.
08:33What I will say is this.
08:35Our relationship with our federal partners is not new.
08:38We do this on a daily basis.
08:40We are very, very much in tune to having federal law enforcement officers working with us
08:46on our capital area regional task force.
08:48Our federal partners work with us, especially on some of our warrant executions.
08:54They work very, very closely with us with our violent crime suppression division.
08:58And it is my intent and my police department's intent to continue those efforts.
09:03What you will see is an enhanced present.
09:05The second thing that's really important to me, and I'm speaking directly to our community,
09:09is that we have a relationship with our community that is very important to us, our community members.
09:14And so having our Metropolitan Police Department working alongside of our federal partners
09:20who have come into the city to really help us assess and deal with the crime,
09:25some of the crime spikes that we have, we will work alongside them.
09:29But intentionally, we want to make sure that our community understands that we are there.
09:34We're going to be boots on the ground.
09:36If you see something, again, say something.
09:38We value those relationships.
09:40Our community members, and I want to say thank you for all the work that you've done
09:44with the Metropolitan Police Department up to this point.
09:48Those relationships are very, very important to us.
09:52And we want to continue to build upon that and continue to enhance that.
09:55I'll turn it back over to Mayor Bowser now.
09:59Okay.
10:00We'll take a few questions.
10:01And I'm joined by members of my public safety team, including Deputy Mayor Appiah and Chief John Donnelly.
10:07Yes, please identify yourself.
10:09Mayor Bowser, Campbell, Robertson of the New York Times.
10:12Do you think this was inevitable, or do you think there are things that the city could have done
10:17with the council to prevent the state of coming?
10:21This is, I don't know.
10:26I can't answer that question.
10:28And I think that's a question that we, you're familiar with the rhetoric about the city
10:34and how long it goes back.
10:36And we also know that we're not experiencing a spike in crime, but a decrease in crime.
10:43Yep.
10:44You and the chief are talking about partnerships with the federal partners who are coming in.
10:53The president is talking about a takeover of the city's police department.
10:58Where did the chief bid in with Terry Cole, who is the new federal commissioner of the D.C. Police Department?
11:07Nothing about our organizational chart has changed, and nothing in the executive order would indicate otherwise.
11:18So, the chief of police reports through the deputy mayor to the mayor of the District of Columbia.
11:26And the two people, I think, that were identified in the presser report to Attorney General Bondi.
11:33The executive order makes clear that all requests for MPD services, the president dedicates to Attorney General Bondi.
11:42So, Terry Cole?
11:44I don't recall the names.
11:46Yes.
11:47The Metropolitan Police Department?
11:49Where does he sit in that?
11:51That's a question for the Attorney General, I think.
11:54Yep.
11:55Mayor, to what extent are you planning to cooperate in this new framework?
12:01Or is the city planning anything to prevent this from happening, including any legal evidence?
12:07Well, I think all legal, I think you probably saw the Attorney General for the District, Brian Schwab's,
12:14a statement about reviewing all legal matters, and I think those matters are under review.
12:20The plain language, however, of the Home Rule Charter, in the case that there is a declared emergency,
12:29there are, it allows the president, it authorizes the president to make those requests.
12:40And it says the mayor shall comply with those requests.
12:44So, yep.
12:46I'm Mariel with DC News Now.
12:47Are there any concerns that, you know, with this rhetoric, that we have NPD, the National Guard,
12:52possible other law enforcement agencies on the ground, that there will be confusion about who's in charge,
12:57who these officers answer to, and how people should respond if approached by any of these law enforcement?
13:03Well, we should note, and we have been advised, and we will continue to make this clear,
13:13that this is needed in our city, that all law enforcement be identifiable by uniform, a badge, a jacket,
13:21so that people know that they are law enforcement.
13:27And the chief, in her coordination with the, kind of the command on the federal side,
13:37will make clear, kind of, how the protocols for response.
13:42And if there's any additional information we need to get out to the public, we will.
13:47But the main point is this, everybody should follow the law, the police, and the community.
13:55And that's the case now.
13:57It was the case last week, and it was the case the week before that.
14:01So nothing has changed about that.
14:02Yep.
14:03Hi, Lionel Donovan, WUSA.
14:05Would you be able to respond to a statement that came out from DC Police Union?
14:09They've come out recently, saying that they stand with the president,
14:12and that they have also said that.
14:13They're also calling for the president to go even further and repeal some of the legislation that DC Council passed in 2012.
14:24I'm afraid I haven't seen that statement yet, so I don't want to comment on it.
14:29We have, you know, worked very closely with the DC Police Union.
14:34Some issues they've advanced I've totally agreed with.
14:37Others I haven't.
14:38One thing that we are squarely supportive of is making sure that our department can recruit more officers
14:47and get to a number that I think we need.
14:51We've worked cooperatively with them on recruitment and retention activities,
14:55on some other changes to the law that were very objectionable to the union and our members,
15:02and we will continue to do that.
15:06Yeah.
15:07Peace and blessings, Madam Mayor.
15:08So in what way, if any, does this change your strategy in terms of your relationship with the president?
15:17You've been pretty cooperative, pretty diplomatic, but, you know, he's saying one thing about crime.
15:23You're stating facts, and he's still infringing on your role as mayor.
15:28So, you know, as far as your relationship and your strategy, you know, are you going to, what do you intend to do as far as, you know, engaging with them at this point?
15:38Well, we engage with all officials that impact the district, and that includes the president.
15:44So I don't expect that that would change from our part.
15:47But as far as, you know, and I don't, if I may follow up.
15:51Sure.
15:53Are you going to go what some might consider a bit harder in pushing back against what he's trying to do?
15:58You know, will your tenor change or intensify, you know?
16:03My tenor will be appropriate for what I think is important for the district.
16:08And what's important for the district is that we can take care of our citizens.
16:14And if people are concerned about a president's ability to have the MPD police department be responsive to the Department of Justice,
16:28the time to address that is when we're talking about statehood for D.C.
16:33If people are concerned about the president being able to move the National Guard into our city,
16:39the time to do that would have been when the Congress had a bill that it could have given control of the D.C.
16:45National Guard to D.C.
16:47So there are things that when a city is not a state and not fully autonomous and doesn't have senators,
16:55that the federal government can do.
16:59Yeah.
17:00Jim Cousinger from the Boston Globe.
17:02So just to follow on his question, you at times in President Trump's first term were more confrontational with him,
17:09especially in 2020.
17:10You've tried to be more cooperative this time.
17:13Any second thoughts about that approach?
17:16Are you planning any sort of defiance, symbolic or whatever in light of this?
17:22Well, I would refer you to the law.
17:27Humble Charter, he referred to it.
17:29I would refer you to the executive order.
17:32And so everything that we have said maintains my authority given by the Home Rule Charter.
17:44Yeah.
17:45Josh Chapin, Channel 7.
17:46I just want to be clear also that this ramp up, this emergency we're talking about, is a brief period,
17:52like a 30-day period.
17:54Am I right?
17:54The Charter gives him the ability to do it for 30 days, yes.
18:01So that means cooperating with the, you know, whatever he wants to do?
18:06Well, it means that we follow the law, that the MPD follows the law as well, as well as all of the federal officials who are here.
18:19It's also important just, and we will do this in our communications with them, understand, like, what they're looking to see.
18:28If this, so the fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods, that could not, you know, that may be positive.
18:37If people are, if it's a positive action.
18:43So that's what the executive order says.
18:48Yeah, Mark.
18:49A couple quick questions.
18:51One, do you know, will the National Guard be armed?
18:54I don't know.
18:55And then, what if the Attorney General directs the Chief of Police to redirect sources, to do something that you and the Chief disagree with?
19:05For instance, redirect resources from east of the river to the federal line of play with something like that,
19:11where you comply with, you say you're going to follow the law, you say you want to be cooperative.
19:16What if you get a directive from the White House or the Attorney General that you just steadfastly don't agree with
19:23and think it's the wrong move and would jeopardize public safety in other neighborhoods, where you comply?
19:28I don't have any reason to think that at this point, Mark, so I don't want to speculate about that.
19:37The executive order, as is the Home Rule Charter, is pretty clear that the directives have to be,
19:44the requests have to be related to federal purposes.
19:49And then, can I ask, the President threatened to use not just the National Guard, but military,
19:54to bring the United States military, federal troops into the District of Columbia if needed.
20:00Can you respond to that threat?
20:01I mean, we're in uncharted waters already.
20:04A lot of people are seeing this as the first step in an assault on Home Rule, which the President has threatened.
20:11He's been making these threats since last year, and now he's carrying through with them.
20:15There's no reason to believe he won't go further.
20:18What do you say to the President about his threats to bringing the military,
20:22not just the National Guard, but the military?
20:24We don't, and I think I speak for all Americans, we don't believe or believe it's legal to use the American military
20:32against American citizens on American soil.
20:35I'm not a lawyer, but I think that's a fairly widely held fact.
20:44And so, but we've seen them move, I think, the, you know, active military into California.
20:53So, it is, it's a question.
20:56We've seen active military on the borders of D.C. some years ago,
21:01and we don't believe that our military should be used against American citizens.
21:06Yes?
21:06Mayor Bowser, can you talk a little bit about the communication that you did receive before this morning?
21:11Did you know what this announcement was going to be before today?
21:17And can you just talk about the communication writ large before today?
21:20And secondarily, what do you say to D.C. residents who wanted to hear more from you,
21:24specifically in the last five days, being forthright, speaking to press and media?
21:31Can you just talk about-
21:31D.C. residents know I'm forthright.
21:33That's not a question.
21:35D.C. residents know that, and this press corps should know I speak to you all the time.
21:40So, you should know that as well.
21:43And your question was, when I did not know that the request of NPD would be made,
21:51I believed that they would announce that they were going to call up the National Guard.
21:57I had one brief phone call related to the National Guard issue over the weekend.
22:06Madam Mayor, can you tell us-
22:09Can you identify yourself?
22:11Brian Todd from CNN.
22:12Okay.
22:12Can you tell us what your main challenges are going to be with Chief Smith and the D.C. police
22:17working with federal officials?
22:18And are you concerned that any federal official overseeing the D.C. police department
22:23is not going to know the city as well as Chief Smith and your officers?
22:27Chief Smith oversees the NPD.
22:30And all of the requests and coordination for the federal request, I don't really have a doubt
22:38that that is going to, among those officials who are law enforcement officials who have experience
22:44working together, I don't have a big concern about that communication and coordination happening.
22:52Who hasn't?
22:55Yep.
22:56Hi, Emma Uber with the Washington Post.
22:58During the news conference this morning, President Trump spoke about how he wanted to empower D.C.
23:04police to hit back harder.
23:05Are you aware of any changes in the works to NPD's use of force policies?
23:11And does that kind of rhetoric, how do you feel about that kind of rhetoric?
23:13Um, I, our police officers are highly professional, well-trained officers that we, um, support, uh,
23:24with training throughout their careers.
23:26We're proud of where our department has come from in terms of their level of professionalism.
23:33Um, so they're trained in constitutional policing, uh, and that is our expectation.
23:40Yes.
23:41Hold on.
23:42You've asked the question one more.
23:43Um, Owen Hayes, NBC News, just to follow up on that a bit, uh, so will they still be
23:47fully subject to, uh, local regulations when it comes to use of force body cameras while
23:53under federal control, NPD officers?
23:56NPD reports is, is reports to the chief of police and they are, uh, subject to D.C.
24:03and local laws as federal, as well as federal laws.
24:07And that will continue even under this plan?
24:09Yes.
24:11Yes.
24:11Uh, Emiliana Wood, News Nation.
24:14You said earlier that they did not tell you about this announcement before it happened today.
24:20Did the White House or the president, uh, bring up their concerns with crime before last week?
24:24The president talks about crime all the time.
24:27Specifically in D.C.?
24:29Yes.
24:30Have you, have you, have you not heard the president from the campaign trail in every conversation
24:38I had with him?
24:39We're always briefing the president on our progress.
24:42In fact, our, my first meeting with him, um, after he was elected the second time, we went
24:48over the crime trends.
24:50We went over how we're seeing decreases.
24:52So the president, um, is, is read in on our efforts.
24:56Uh, who hasn't yet?
24:58Yep.
24:59Over here.
25:00Um, Ashraf Khalil with the Associated Press.
25:02Uh, a lot of this seems to be perceptions of what constitutes an emergency.
25:07Uh, the, the White House and the administration says there's an obvious emergency.
25:11Your administration with numbers of the council says there is not an emergency here.
25:17How do you solve that?
25:18Is there an arbitration option?
25:20Is it, where does it go from here?
25:23Because it feels like it's, do you agree that it comes down to what constitutes an emergency
25:29and what's next?
25:30Well, I, what I would point you to is the home rule charter that gives the president the
25:36ability to determine the conditions of an emergency.
25:40Now we could contest that, but, um, the authority is pretty broad.
25:45And so, like, if you wanted to say the, the most outrageous thing, one might say, well, I
25:51won't say that.
25:52It could be something very small, like, I'm not saying that that's what he's doing, but
25:57it could be.
25:58And if he deems it and he puts the meat around it and the argument around, uh, what he thinks
26:03is an emergency.
26:04Uh, when we think of emergencies, it usually involves surges in crime, um, and, or crime
26:12that's not being responsive or tools that we have that we can't use in the normal course.
26:18Uh, that's what, when we use an emergency, uh, that's, that's what it's for.
26:25Yep.
26:26I'm Lauren Alt and I'm ABC News National.
26:29I wanted to see if you could respond directly to some of what the president said this morning.
26:33Do you agree or have any thoughts on the picture he's painting?
26:35He said that there are, quote, bloodthirsty criminals, end quote, or roping mods of wild
26:40youth, end quote.
26:41He also said that BC police can do whatever the hell they want, end quote.
26:44Are you okay with that?
26:45What does that mean?
26:46Do you have any response to him or the White House talking about the BC crime stats?
26:49I mean, I think I've already addressed all of those questions.
26:52Anything else?
26:53Yep.
26:54Scott Gellman with WTOP.
26:56You described, this morning was described as a federal takeover of MPD.
27:00It sounds like you're describing this as chief Smith is still in charge and everything will
27:04run through the department.
27:06What will this look like on a day to day basis as it relates to what is transpired here?
27:11What can people expect to see?
27:12Is this an instance where you all work collaboratively for big events and this is something comparable
27:17to that?
27:18No, I don't.
27:19I don't.
27:20It's not like that.
27:21It's not like the special events task force where we work together.
27:25And I think I don't want to minimize what was said and I don't want to minimize the intrusion
27:34on our autonomy because it is very different than working a special event.
27:39So that is not what we're trying to do.
27:42But I think the chief, and I'll turn to her in a second to talk to you about what she
27:48thinks is going to be most helpful to MPD.
27:55I want to believe I answered the question a little bit earlier.
27:57But I think what's helpful to us is that we come together and we look at data, we look
28:02at intelligence when it comes to crime across our city.
28:05Violent crimes as well as property crimes.
28:07And so there are other things that the federal government is also very useful for, useful in
28:13supporting us.
28:14And that is in the city is warrants.
28:16Right?
28:17The execution of warrants, the U.S. Marshals hold those.
28:20This will be an opportunity for us to come together and collaborate on being able to go out and execute warrants.
28:25As we think about over the past, came in two years ago, five years prior, we looked at some of our data where we saw an
28:33increase in violent crime in certain areas across our city.
28:37We designated those areas as a homicide reduction partnership plan with some of our federal officers.
28:43What we'll do in that space is we'll enhance that presence.
28:47The other thing is that most of you know we have a nightlife task force.
28:51U Street, we have a lot of tourists, residents, individuals who come into our city on a Thursday night, Friday night or Saturday night and enjoy the nightlife culture.
29:03We will also be able to utilize that enhanced presence in and around that area and any other crime trends that we might see that will go forth.
29:13We have our drug-free zones where we also align our federal partners in those spaces as well as our juvenile curfew zones.
29:20May I just follow up quickly, Chief?
29:23So again, this morning it's being described as a federal takeover.
29:26You all are describing it as an opportunity to enhance the crime prevention strategies you have in place.
29:32To the community who's confused about the discrepancies, where does it fall?
29:36Well, I just articulated to you where it falls.
29:38What I mean by that is that with respect to the two federal partners who will be working alongside me, the operations and the administrative liaison,
29:49we have a meeting scheduled for today right after this meeting and we will be able to create an operational plan for our city that will continue to keep our city safe.
29:57Chief Smith, I just have one question.
29:59We just broke the rule.
30:00Maybe somebody else haven't asked the question already.
30:02Okay, is that it?
30:03Okay, all right.
30:04I just have one question.
30:05Could you just bring up data a lot?
30:07We've talked about how the data has come from MPD saying that crime has been going down.
30:12However, this morning Trump did cite a report where a sergeant was accused of messing with the crime numbers.
30:20So would you be able to respond to some of what Trump said directly this morning?
30:23Well, I cannot respond to any internal investigations.
30:26And I think, as you know, we do not talk about personnel actions with regards to our personnel.
30:30Sam, Sam.
30:31No problem.
30:32A two part question.
30:33For me?
30:34Yes.
30:35Okay.
30:36And this is in regards to the youth.
30:38What is your professional assessment of how MPD has handled the so-called youth takeovers?
30:43And I guess the second part of my question might be more appropriate for the mayor.
30:48But can I ask the first question?
30:50Then you can ask the mayor the second question.
30:51I think when it comes to the juveniles, and I've said this, you know, I'm very passionate about young people who are going to do great things in our city.
31:00And we have a lot of young people who are moving in that trajectory and in that space.
31:06The problem is we have a small subset of young people who do not.
31:09And I've said to parents, you need to know where your children are.
31:12We've talked about this over and over again.
31:15The mayor has enacted an executive order so that I, as the chief, can designate juvenile curfew zones around our city
31:23so that we can still give young people the opportunity to be able to be in those spaces based on what the laws and the regulations state.
31:31But we won't allow the disruptive behavior.
31:33And we've seen that time and time again.
31:35We've looked at intelligence.
31:36We've looked at data.
31:37Sometimes we look at things that are on social media to help guide our decisions.
31:41We want young people to be safe in our city.
31:43We want them to be able to enjoy the activities of our city.
31:46But we're not going to tolerate that kind of criminal activity that we've seen in the past.
31:51The juvenile curfew zone that was enacted, we've seen a decrease in our juvenile participation in those locations.
31:58No doubt.
31:59And Madam Mayor, if I may, how effective would it be to federalize crimes that you've committed?
32:07Because we keep hearing that from the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
32:12But how effective would that be as a crime prevention strategy, in your opinion?
32:16Well, I have had a pretty, we had a meeting with the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
32:25Janine Pirro last week.
32:28And she does have a lot of interest in crime, juvenile crimes and how her office can be more engaged.
32:37What I committed to her then was having some conversations around the laws that she's concerned about with members of the council.
32:49And seeing if there's any possibility of an omnibus to change that.
32:56With regard to who prosecutes or what crime she can prosecute, that's not a local law change.
33:05That would be a congressional change.
33:07So am I hearing you correctly in saying that you would embrace the change in the three laws?
33:15Ira?
33:16I have a position on at least two or three of those I can refer you to.
33:21You wouldn't mind articulating them real quick?
33:23I would because I'm going to get them mixed up in my head right now.
33:27But I will be happy to share that with you.
33:30Okay, I'll take a few more.
33:32Yep.
33:33Mayor, along with those laws that Sam was just talking about earlier today, we also heard a focus on D.C.'s bail system, being a cashless bail system.
33:44Was that part of your discussion?
33:46That's the first time I ever heard that come up in a situation with D.C.
33:52D.C. has had a no cash, whatever you call it, cashless bail, I think since the mid-90s.
34:00So that's not anything new to our system.
34:05We do, and you know that I was very, very focused in the last two years on having the council pass laws that would allow judges to hold violent offenders, those accused of a violent offense, pretrial.
34:25And I believe that that provision has led to our very substantial decrease in shootings and homicides.
34:36Yep.
34:37I wonder if you could specifically speak to some of the concerns that U.S. Attorney Puro has raised about her perception of lenient sentencing for youth charged with violent crimes.
34:47Do you think that's an issue?
34:48And as she suggested potentially charging in some instances, prosecuting youth as adults.
34:54Is that a potential solution or do you agree with that?
34:57Well, the U.S. Attorney has the ability to prosecute youth for some crimes as adults.
35:04And I think she's interested in expanding that and possibly lowering the age.
35:10What I committed to her to do is look at all of the what's allowable in the law now, the types of crimes, working with the council and working on some changes.
35:21So do you agree with her, though, that that needs to be expanded or do you think that is an unhelpful solution?
35:26I don't want to say right now because that could mean a lot of things.
35:31We want to really analyze what we think would keep us safer, the link to crime.
35:39I will say this and then this is some of you are new to covering us and covering these issues.
35:44But I am have been in my tenure of service very pro accountability.
35:55OK, I am an accountability mayor.
35:58If you commit a crime in the district with a gun, there has to be accountability.
36:05And that's if you are an adult or if you are a juvenile.
36:10I don't think we always have that accountability.
36:13I think what was missing from the press conference a little bit earlier, however, is what people also don't know about the district.
36:22Our prosecutors are not local.
36:25OK, they don't get elected by anybody here.
36:29They don't report to any of us.
36:31They are appointed by the president.
36:34We've also had a period of time where some of the very good police arrests that have been made were not prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
36:44So the prosecution is a federal element.
36:49Judges are appointed by the president of the United States as well.
36:54And so those are not local judges.
36:57They don't report to any of us.
36:59So that is a part of the federal system.
37:02So any time we talk about crime in the district, it is part local and part federal that that can make changes.
37:12All right. I'll take just a few more. Mark.
37:15The president made numerous threats about.
37:22And dealing with people in the district who are experiencing homelessness.
37:25Can you talk about what preparations that you're making, your administration is making to facilitate this?
37:32And what this.
37:33Have you had any of those conversations with the White House?
37:35What that's going to look like?
37:37And where these people would go if they would be FD 12?
37:42We really haven't gotten any more detail about the plan, about the words that he said.
37:52It wasn't referenced in the executive order that came down.
37:56So we were going to work.
37:59And I believe in he had a previous executive order that also identified Attorney General Bondi as a point of contact as it relates to homelessness.
38:09And such. So we'll follow up with her.
38:13Okay. Last two questions. Yes.
38:15I want to go back again to the federal commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department.
38:20It sounds like the chief has described this person, Terry Cole, as an advisor, as a liaison, as something.
38:29The president, people were saying that person, Terry Cole, is going to be in charge of the police department.
38:36I can't really comment on that, Tom.
38:38I can only tell you what's in the executive order.
38:41And that's that's what controls.
38:44Yep.
38:45Will DMJS be coordinated with law enforcement?
38:48Can you identify yourself?
38:49Hi, I'm with Street Sense Media.
38:51Okay. What's your name?
38:52Maddie Kessler.
38:53Okay. Thanks, Maddie.
38:54Yeah.
38:55Will DMJS be coordinating with law enforcement when it comes to increased encampment clearings,
39:00and then if AG Bondi directs local law enforcement to arrest and remove people experiencing homelessness out of D.C., will Chief Smith comply?
39:09Well, let me just say what MPD needs to be focused on, and it's violent crime.
39:14We simply like our force when the chief deploys every day and every night is focused on people who are committing crimes in the district.
39:25So I'll leave it at that.
39:27Mayor, one more if I could.
39:29Okay.
39:30You testified to Congress after the 2020 racial justice protests when there was concern that Trump might take control over MPD at that time, that that would be a complete disaster, and that you were worried that you're going to lose control of the city.
39:48Can you reflect on this moment today?
39:51Do you feel that you're at risk of losing control of the city?
39:54Are you worried this is going to be a complete disaster?
39:57I'm going to work every day to make sure it's not a complete disaster.
40:03Let me put it that way.
40:05And I think that with Chief Smith's leadership and her expertise in both the federal space and the local space, we are going to do our level best to maintain, as the chief talked about, to maintain the trust that D.C. residents have in us.
40:26What could be a disaster is if we lose communities who won't call the police.
40:34That could be a disaster.
40:35What would be a disaster if communities won't talk to the police if a crime has been committed and could help solve that crime?
40:43That could be a disaster.
40:45It would be a disaster if people who aren't committing crimes are antagonized into committing crimes.
40:52That would be a disaster.
40:54So we are going to work every day to get this emergency put to an end.
41:06I'll call it the so-called emergency and continue to do our work.
41:13And at the same time, make sure that if they're, these are like the law enforcement officers who are, they're leaving their homes, their towns, maybe doing double shifts.
41:25If our National Guard are deployed, they're leaving their primary mission to come.
41:31We don't want their time to be wasted.
41:34We want to be strategic in and work with them.
41:38But I'll end by saying this.
41:43If we, we know the tools that are available to the district if we have, are experiencing a surge in crime.
41:54Um, and I've put them in place before and includes, um, curfews.
42:00Uh, I've asked the council, uh, to pass emergency legislation.
42:05Uh, I've asked the Congress for additional funds.
42:09We, we, we've, we've done, um, all of those, all of those things.
42:14So there's nobody here.
42:16Uh, and certainly nobody who works for me who wants to tolerate any level of crime.
42:23And I know it's frustrating sometimes to hear if I say, um, our crime numbers have gone down.
42:30Uh, yet you've been a victim of crime.
42:32It doesn't matter to you if crime has gone down.
42:35If you were a victim or, you know, someone who is a victim.
42:38So we understand that we work every day, uh, to, to stop, to stop crime.
42:45Thank you, everybody.
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