WASHINGTON (AP) — Pamela Smith, who was catapulted into national attention after President Donald Trump moved to federalize Washington’s police force and who worked to confront rising violence in the nation’s capital, is stepping down as the city’s police chief, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday.
Smith, appointed in 2023, had been brought in to stabilize a department facing staffing shortages and a city shaken by post-pandemic crime. But her tenure unfolded amid a fierce battle over authority, as Trump asserted federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed National Guard troops and federal agents alongside the city’s officers.
In announcing her resignation, Bowser praised Smith for “stepping up” at a moment of “significant urgency,” crediting her with helping drive down violent crime, cutting homicides to an eight-year low and launching major policing initiatives, including a Real-Time Crime Center and new technology upgrades.
“Chief Smith got all of this done while navigating unprecedented challenges and attacks on our city’s autonomy,” Bowser said.
The mayor did not say why Smith is leaving. She also did not announce who would take over the department or whether the change in leadership might affect the city’s broader public-safety strategy at a moment when Washington continues to recover from historic levels of violence.
In a statement, Smith said she was confident the police force “is in a strong position and that the great work will continue” and that the role has been both a challenge and a reward.
“I am proud of the accomplishments we achieved together, and I thank the residents of this city for their trust and partnership,” Smith said. “While my aspiration has always been to see zero percent crime, we are not there yet. Nonetheless, we have made tremendous progress, and there remains important work ahead.”
Smith, a longtime federal law enforcement official and former head of the U.S. Park Police, assumed command during one of Washington’s most volatile years in nearly two decades, as homicides surged, carjackings hit record highs and frustration mounted among residents and lawmakers.
The spike in 2023 violence prompted congressional hearings and led city leaders to expand police authority, including authorizing drug-free zones in areas with persistent crime. Lawmakers also rewrote parts of the city’s criminal code in an effort to stem the rise in violent offenses.
Early the next year, the city began to see improvement. Overall crime fell by about 17% in the first ten weeks of 2024, a drop Smith attributed to the new law and to targeted deployments in neighborhoods experiencing repeated trouble. She also imposed temporary youth curfew zones in several parts of the district.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Washington’s Mayor Bowser says the city’s police chief, Pamela Smith, is stepping down WHEC.com.
Hence then, the article about washington s mayor bowser says the city s police chief pamela smith is stepping down was published today ( ) and is available on News10NBC ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Washington’s Mayor Bowser says the city’s police chief, Pamela Smith, is stepping down )
Also on site :
- Supermarket timings for Boxing Day and New Year revealed for Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl and more
- Trump rants about Epstein in Christmas Day post claiming he dropped ties with sex offender ‘long before it became fashionable’
- ‘Stranger Things 5’ Volume 2 Spoiler Interview: Duffer Brothers Explain the Upside Down’s Origins, Will’s [SPOILER], That Breakup and Why Eleven Might Not Get a Happy Ending