(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) - 3.17.22 Letter To Mayor Bowser

March 17, 2022
The Honorable Muriel Bowser

Mayor of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #406
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mayor Bowser:

On October 1, 2021, we wrote to you requesting a staff briefing on crime and
homelessness in the District of Columbia (District).1 You or your staff failed to provide any
briefing. Further, since our last letter, the circumstances in the District have worsened. As the
committee of jurisdiction for all matters involving D.C., we reiterate our request for information
about how you plan to address the rampant violent crime in the nation’s capital city.
Police unions, parents, and neighborhood associations are raising the red flag as crime
continues to increase.2 In early February 2022, a Maryland woman and her 11-month-old infant
were carjacked and kidnapped at knifepoint in northeast D.C.3 On March 3, a father, carrying a
6-month-old infant while walking with a 5-year-old girl, was shot and killed in northeast D.C. at
8:30 a.m.4 Less than one week later, a local doctor was killed when he was carjacked in Adams
Morgan.5 In the wake of the slaying of the D.C. doctor, you stated that the perpetrator is a
“person [who] probably didn’t intend to kill anybody, but did.”6 A string of violent attacks
targeting homeless individuals in D.C. and New York City have led to two deaths in two weeks.7
1
Letter from Hon. James Comer, et. al., Ranking Member, H. Comm. on Oversight and Reform, to Hon. Muriel
Bowser, Mayor, District of Columbia (Oct. 1, 2021).
2
Press Release, DC Police Union, New survey shows DC residents concerned about crime, skeptical about police
reform initiatives (Aug. 3, 2021).
3
Kyle Cooper, Md. mother, baby abducted at knifepoint in DC carjacking, WTOP NEWS (Feb. 4, 2022).
4
Patrick Reilly, DC man fatally shot in street while carrying baby, holding hand of another child, NEW YORK POST
(Mar. 5, 2022).
5
Peter Hermann & Emily Davies, MedStar doctor hit by his own car and killed after a thief jumped in and sped off,
THE WASH. POST (Mar. 9, 2022).
6
Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports), Twitter (Mar. 10, 2022, 12:59 PM), available at
https://twitter.com/RamirezReports/status/1501981181293772800.
7
Peter Hermann, et. al., D.C. and N.Y. police seek gunman in shootings of five homeless people, THE WASH. POST
(Mar. 13, 2022).
March 17, 2022
Page 2
These recent incidents are only a few examples of the brazen crimes endangering children and
families in the District.8
According to the DC Police Union, since last year alone—which itself set records for
crime—robbery has increased nearly 50 percent, burglary has increased by nearly 40 percent,
and violent crime has increased by over 20 percent.9 A recently released Washington Post poll
found 30 percent of District residents felt unsafe in their neighborhoods, the highest level in
more than two decades.10 Residents ranked crime as the biggest problem facing the District that
they wanted their Mayor to solve and said more police presence would reduce crime.11
Democrat-led efforts to defund or “reimagine” the police are contributing to the rise in crime and
public distrust, but the District Council’s DC Police Reform Commission has advocated
Democrats’ anti-law enforcement agenda.12
In November 2021, the District hit an ominous milestone—its first time since 2003
reaching 200 homicides in one year.13 The District is experiencing dramatic increases in
robberies, burglaries, violent crime, and property crime while the Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD) is “short 100s of cops[.]”14 These troubling statistics raise questions about
whether your office is committed to maintaining an adequate police force. The District’s FY
2022 budget cut the MPD budget by nearly 6 percent.15 MPD Police Chief Robert Contee has
expressed his concerns that these budget cuts will lead to a “net loss of more than 200 sworn
members” and will cause the District to have the smallest police force in two decades by the end
of FY 2022.16 A recent audit revealed the District’s 911 dispatch fell behind national standards
for response times to callers.17 MPD officers allegedly engaged in improper behavior will need
to be replaced and your office needs a plan to augment the ranks.18 Likewise, retiring officers
need to be replaced. Despite continued calls from the DC Police Union for more support from
the District, MPD lacks the resources to conduct sufficient policing.19 In fact, your new FY 2023
8
Peter Hermann, Man fatally shot while walking with infant, 5-year-old in Northeast D.C., police say, THE WASH.
POST (Mar. 4, 2022).
9
DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion), Twitter (Mar. 2, 2022, 8:24 AM), available at
https://twitter.com/DCPoliceUnion/status/1499012708154458116?s=20&t=up0jJziu3wsUmwUWrnnbZA.
10
Peter Hermann, Emily Davies, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin, 3 in 10 District residents do not feel safe in their
neighborhoods, Post poll finds, THE WASH. POST (Feb. 25, 2022).
11
Id.
12
D.C. Police Reform Comm’n, Decentering Police to Improve Public Safety: A Report of the DC Police Reform
Commission (Apr. 1, 2021).
13
Peter Hermann, D.C. records 200th homicide of the year, a mark not seen since 2003, THE WASH. POST (Nov. 23,
2021).
14
DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion), Twitter (Oct. 25, 2021, 8:57 AM), available at
https://twitter.com/DCPoliceUnion/status/1452620334658727953.
15
Amanda Michelle Gomez, What happened to defunding the police?, WASH. CITY PAPER (June 17, 2021).
16
Id.
17
Neal Augenstein, Audit finds DC 911 system falls short of national standards; ‘bullying’ culture in call center,
WTOP NEWS (Oct. 19, 2021).
18
Scott Taylor, DC Police Commander out after 7News exposes he used patrol cars to get to and from a bar, ABC 7
NEWS (Mar. 10, 2022).
19
Ida Domingo, DC Police Union call on city leaders to expand resources to officers after 200 th homicide, ABC 7
NEWS (Nov. 23, 2021).
March 17, 2022
Page 3
budget recognizes that past MPD budget cuts have hurt the MPD’s ability to protect our capital’s
citizens by allocating funding for 500 additional sworn officers.20
We again request that you provide the Committee staff a briefing to explain your plans to
address the alarming rates of crime and the lack of sufficient MPD support in the District of
Columbia. Please make arrangements to schedule this briefing by March 24, 2022. To schedule
the briefing or to ask any follow-up or related questions, please contact Committee staff at (202)
225-5704.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform has primary legislative jurisdiction over
“[m]unicipal affairs of the District of Columbia in general” pursuant to House Rule X.
Additionally, the Committee is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” also under
House Rule X.
Sincerely,
_________________________ _________________________
James Comer Jody Hice
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government
Operations
_________________________ _________________________
Glenn S. Grothman Michael Cloud
Subcommittee on National Security Subcommittee on Economic and
Consumer Policy
_________________________ _________________________
Ralph Norman Nancy Mace
Subcommittee on Environment Subcommittee on Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties
20
Gov’t of D.C., FY 2023 Proposed Budget and Fin. Plan: Vol. 1 Exec. Summary (Mar. 16, 2022).
March 17, 2022
Page 4
_________________________ _________________________
Jim Jordan Virginia A. Foxx
Member of Congress Member of Congress
__________________________ __________________________
Bob Gibbs Clay Higgins
__________________________ __________________________
Pete Sessions Fred Keller
__________________________ __________________________
Andy Biggs Andrew S. Clyde
__________________________ __________________________
Scott Franklin Jake LaTurner
__________________________ __________________________
Pat Fallon Yvette Herrell
__________________________
Byron Donalds
Member of Congress
March 17, 2022
Page 5
cc: The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman

Committee on Oversight and Reform
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman

Subcommittee on Government Operations
The Honorable Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman

Subcommittee on National Security
The Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman

Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy
The Honorable Ro Khanna, Chairman

Subcommittee on Environment
The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Chairman

Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

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March 17, 2022

The Honorable Muriel Bowser

Dear Mayor Bowser:

cc: The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman

The Honorable Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman

The Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman

The Honorable Ro Khanna, Chairman

The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Chairman

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