D.C.’s interim police chief sent a letter Saturday to Councilmember Brooke Pinto responding to her letter from last month, in which she pressed for answers about the Metropolitan Police Department’s cooperation with federal agencies.
In it, Interim Chief Police Chief Jeffery Carroll says the Metropolitan Police Department is not working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On a day where protesters filled the streets of the D.C. region as part of what is being called the “ICE Out for Good Weekend of Action,” Carroll officially responded to a request from the D.C. Council to answer questions regarding the agency’s cooperation with federal authorities.
In the letter, which arrived one day after the Jan. 9 deadline set by the council, Carroll says,
“MPD remains committed to its longstanding policy prohibiting enforcement of civil immigration laws, absent a criminal warrant or criminal judicial order.”
It also says, “MPD is not working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” But he confirms MPD’s collaboration with other federal agencies, saying, “We believe, however, MPD’s long partnership with these federal agencies, and our ability to help direct their energies on violent crime reduction, has likely blunted some of the widespread focus on nonviolent offenders we saw in the District during the Emergency and continue to see in other cities.”
He also says, “Let me state unequivocally that I share the values of the District government, which welcomes people from around the country and the world to make this a vibrant and safe city.”
D.C. police cooperation with ICE has been in the spotlight since President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency last August and deployed federal agents to help make the city, in his words, “safe and beautiful.”
Even after the emergency ended, an order from former police Chief Pamela Smith remained in effect, directing officers to cooperate with ICE.
Pinto, who asked for clarification in her letter — signed by all members of the D.C. Council, said Saturday that while she appreciated MPD providing a response, “Their response does not provide the detailed information our letter requested and many questions remain unanswered.”
She said, “I look forward to continuing to work with MPD to get these questions addressed and we will do so during the upcoming performance oversight process and hearing we are holding in several weeks.”
In the letter, Carroll also said he looks forward to working with each of the Councilmembers and that he will be prepared to share more information at MPD’s performance hearing in February.
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