D.C.’s police chief spoke candidly about why he’s leaving the department after three decades and presented his plan to cut crime this summer.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee spoke Thursday, a day after announcing he will retire from the department on June 3 to join the FBI as an assistant director.
Contee said he’ll step down as police chief of his hometown with a sense of pride.
“I’m able to leave out of here with my head high and my chest stuck out. You know why? Because I did everything that I possibly could for my city,” he said.
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He said the possibility of a job with the FBI arose earlier this year, and he told Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday that he had accepted the job. He said he took the position so he could have a larger impact and inspire young people in D.C.
“This is a move I have decided to make for Robert Contee. I have decided to make this move, in addition to it being for Robert Contee, to inspire young people all across our city. A kid from Carver Terrace to rise up to be the chief of police. And now, an assistant director of the FBI. That's going to inspire some kids. Ask me how I know,” he said.
Contee joined MPD as a cadet at age 17 and has spent 33 years with the department. He will become assistant director of the FBI’s Office of Partner Engagement, which builds relationships between the bureau and law enforcement at all levels.
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The District will launch a nationwide search for the next police chief, the mayor said. Contee will be at the mayor’s side as she testifies before Congress next month.
Both Contee and the mayor spoke about the personal toll the chief job takes. Contee recalled the anguish of families who lost loved ones to violence.
“That sound, it pierces my heart,” he said.
His departure comes as the District grapples with gun violence, an increase in homicides and a reduction in the size of the police force.
MPD’s Plan to Cut Crime This Summer
D.C. will seek to lower crime through community engagement and data analysis, the police chief said.
Officers will be asked to boost their efforts to engage with residents and work as problem-solvers, Contee said. He called for people who commit crimes to be accountable, as he has repeated since he was appointed chief in 2021.
“As a city, as a community, we have to come together about what’s acceptable and what’s not in terms of holding people accountable for things they do in our communities that make our communities less safe,” Contee said. “[…] What changes in the ecosystem need to happen so that we ensure that’s not your mother, your father, your sister, your brother that’s on the end of that carjacking?”
All efforts to improve D.C. require continued recovery from the effects of the pandemic, Bowser said.
“I would say that the biggest challenge facing us as a city is how we focus on bringing people, workers and revenues back to pre-pandemic levels that allow us to make the type of investments that we’re accustomed to in our city — be it schools, parks and rec, public safety, transportation,” she said. “I would regard that as the biggest issue.”
