See the latest news update on the Washington, DC police officers under investigation after confiscating guns without making arrests.
Chief Robert Contee made the announcement on Friday that seven members of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. are the subject of an investigation after it was discovered that they had taken several firearms without making any arrests.
The seven officers have been placed on administrative leave or desk duty while the agency conducts the investigations. They are each assigned to a special police unit that focuses on reducing violent crime in the city. MPD officials say that members of the police unit who aren’t under investigation have been moved to other departments’ teams.
Contee stated on Friday, “In these cases, the suspect was not arrested, and the suspect should’ve been arrested.”The weapon was seized and entered as evidence. However, the suspect was given permission to escape, which is not how the Metropolitan Police Department operates.
According to Contee, the misconduct was discovered on Sept. 11 when it was discovered that two officers had confiscated an illegal firearm but had not arrested the suspect. During a separate investigation, officers reviewed footage from body cameras and discovered the incident.
Contee claims that the officers submitted a written report of the incident that was inconsistent with the footage, despite the fact that the firearm was properly placed in evidence. According to him, this prompted the agency to conduct additional investigation and discover that at least five other members of the police department had engaged in “similar acts of misconduct.”
“The location of the guns is not a mystery. Contee stated, “The mystery is why the people were not arrested.”
According to the police chief, investigators have informed the U.S. attorney general’s office to determine whether the misconduct is more widespread.
The district’s police have been under increased pressure to remove guns from the streets due to rising crime rates, which is why the investigation is being conducted. The MPD regularly updates its social media accounts with the number of illegal guns it has seized, claiming to have seized 2,000 this year.
Contee stated, “We have an obligation to hold our members to a high standard for all that they do,” despite the fact that the organization emphasizes the significance of holding criminals accountable for their actions. When they have probable cause to do so, our officers are expected to make arrests.
