WASHINGTON (AP) —D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called President Trump's takeover of the DC police, "unsettling."
She said that the city had reached a 30-year low in violent crime. Bowser said that crime was down not just from a post-pandemic peak in 2023, but from 2019 levels prior to the pandemic.
Bowser highlighted the district’s parks, schools and public transportation and said that it was important for those who live and visit here to know “just how beautiful our city is and how proud we are of all that we’ve accomplished here.
Bowser’s comments are a response to President Trump’s announcement of his takeover of D.C. police force. Bowser said that the steps were “unsettling” but not without precedent.
“My message to residents is this,” Bowser said. “We know that access to our democracy is tenuous. That is why you have heard me and many Washingtonians before me advocate for full statehood.”
DC police union backs Trump’s takeover
The union representing DC police officers is backing Trump’s takeover move, though it called for the federal intervention to be temporary.
Union chairman Gregg Pemberton said it agrees with the president that “immediately action is necessary” to tamp down crime.
Still, Pemberton said that the city ultimately needs a police department that’s “fully staffed and supported.”
He also called for the repeal of criminal justice policies and laws passed by the city council.
Maryland governor says Trump mobilizing National Guard in Washington ‘lacks seriousness’
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C. is also “deeply dangerous.”
Moore, a Democrat who served as a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, said in a statement Monday that the president’s actions lack both data and a battle plan.
“He is simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies, which continue to drive up unemployment and strip away health care and food assistance from those who need it most,” Moore said.
He urged the president to look to Maryland for ways of reducing violent crime. Moore noted that homicides in Maryland are down by more than 20% since Moore’s inauguration in January 2023.
“We await outreach from the White House if they want to have a serious conversation about public safety. But we won’t hold our breath,” he said.