DC Police Union: 12 senior police officers to be dismissed

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The DC Police Union said that 12 senior police officers (SPOs) will be dismissed from service.

The SPOs retired from the department but since had come back to continue serving as sworn officers.

The DC Police Union said that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) pointed to the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act of 2022 as the reason that these officers are being dismissed.

Part of the bill prohibits personnel from being sworn to the force if they have been disciplined by 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,” the DC Police Union said in an email statement to DC News Now.

Metro approves nearly $5 billion budget to maintain service, avoid major cuts

The House of Representatives and the Senate had blocked the bill in the past, but President Joe Biden vetoed that, enacting the law.

“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,” the DC Police Union said in the statement.

“We have lost over 1,400 members since the legislation was first enacted in 2020, and crime
continues to plague our city. We cannot afford to lose any more members than we have already
suffered. It is our hope that the Council will reevaluate the anti-police positions they took in 2020 and prioritize a balanced approach that allows police officers to do their job and seeks to restore the staffing levels on the MPD,” the statement concluded.

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