DC Attorney General expects city to retain police leadership for now

Описание: (15 Aug 2025)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4597177

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington - 15 August 2025
++STARTS ON A SOUNDBITE++
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Brian Schwalb, D.C. Attorney General:
"So the key for today is to know that, our effort to avoid a hostile takeover of our police force is not going to happen. Chief Smith remains in control of the police department under the supervision of our mayor. Very important win for home rule today."
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Brian Schwalb, D.C. Attorney General:
"Even the president of the United States, even the attorney general of the United States, needs to comply with the law. And the Home Rule Charter. And the Home Rule Act is very clear with respect to when the president can request limited services of MPD, limited by time, limited by emergency circumstances, and limited for federal purposes. And in all cases, those services must be requested to the mayor to be provided by the Chief of Police, not a hostile takeover of our police. And if it means standing up to the president, standing up to the Attorney General to ensure that the laws of our country are followed, we will do that. My hope is that we do not have to be back here relitigating it."
++WHITE FLASH++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Mayor Muriel Bowser, (D) Washington, D.C.:
"D.C. residents are worried and concerned, and we have a surge of federal officers. Chief Smith's job, during this week has been to make sure that if we have and while we have federal officers, that they are being used strategically, and while we aren't controlling them, we do have the ability to influence how they're being deployed."
++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
The nation’s capital and the Trump administration appear to be nearing a temporary agreement on the leadership of the city’s police department.

Washington’s top attorney, Brian Schwalb, told reporters he expects the U.S. to agree that the city police chief remains in charge of the department, at least for the coming days.

The two sides sparred in court for hours Friday after the city sued to block the federal government from putting a Trump administration official in charge of city police officers.

The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit said the law doesn’t allow the federal government to name a new police chief, but the city can’t completely keep them out either.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes asked the two sides to hammer out a compromise but promised to issue a court order temporarily blocking the administration from naming a new chief if they couldn’t agree.

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