21 senior DC Police officers to be dismissed

Twenty-one senior D.C. Police officers will not be returning to the force after April 30, some due to serious misconduct. 

The officers had all retired and were then rehired by the Metropolitan Police Department on a year-by-year basis. 

This year, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 prohibited MPD from "appointing police officers who have any serious misconduct in their background," according to MPD representative Tom Lynch. 

Twelve of the 21 officers were let go due to this law, according to MPD. 

The controversial law was first introduced in the summer of 2020 in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and was later made permanent in December 2022 and transmitted to Congress without Mayor Muriel Bowser's signature. The bill strengthens police disciplinary procedures, addresses use of force, bulks up the office of police complaints, and increases the public's access to records when there is an investigation into possible police misconduct. 

The nine other officers' contracts were not renewed "for a variety of reasons," said Lynch. MPD did not provide details on why they were being let go. 

All 21 officers' contracts with MPD will end April 30. 

The DC Police Union released the following statement:

The DC Police Union was notified that twelve Senior Police Officers will be dismissed from service over the coming months. Senior Police Officers are officers who have retired from the department, but returned to continue serving their community as sworn law enforcement officers. The reason that the MPD provided to the Union for these dismissals is the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act of 2022. This bill, which is inarguably the worst piece of public safety legislation the DC Council has ever passed, continues to wreak havoc on the police department. It’s well worth noting that this legislation was drafted and championed by Charles Allen and his anti-police acolytes. The bill prohibits the hiring of sworn personnel if they have ever received sustained discipline from any law enforcement agency. This includes the Metropolitan Police Department, meaning that these officers, who have spent their careers serving and protecting this city, are ineligible to be retained by the MPD due to prior administrative personnel matters, some of which are over 20 years old.