Washington– Pamela Smith, who catapulted to national attention after President Donald Trump moved to federalize Washington’s police force and has worked to confront rising violence in the nation’s capital, will step down as the city’s police chief, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday.
Hired in 2023, Smith is set to bring stability to a department facing staffing shortages and a city rocked by post-pandemic crime. But her tenure came amid a fierce battle for power, as Trump asserted federal control of the D.C. Police Department and deployed National Guard troops and federal agents alongside city officers.
In announcing her resignation, Bowser praised Smith for “stepping up” at an “absolutely necessary” moment, and credited her with helping reduce violent crime, reducing homicides to an eight-year low, and launching major policing initiatives, including a real-time crime center and new technology upgrades.
“Chief Smith accomplished all of this while facing unprecedented challenges and attacks on our city’s independence,” Bowser said.
The mayor did not say why Smith left. She also did not announce who would take over the department or whether a change in leadership might impact the city’s broader public safety strategy at a time when Washington continues to recover from historic levels of violence.
Smith said in a statement she was confident the police force was “in a strong position and that the great work will continue” and that the role was both challenging and rewarding.
“I am proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together, and I thank the people of this city for their trust and partnership,” Smith said. “While it has always been my ambition to get to zero per cent crime, we are not there yet. However, we have made tremendous progress, and we still have important work to do.”
Smith, a longtime federal law enforcement official and former chief of the U.S. Park Police, took the helm during one of the most turbulent years in Washington in nearly two decades, with homicides rising, car thefts hitting record levels and frustration mounting among residents and lawmakers.
A surge in violence in 2023 prompted congressional hearings and prompted city leaders to expand police authority, including allowing the creation of drug-free zones in areas where crime persists. Lawmakers also rewrote parts of the city’s criminal code in an attempt to stem the rise in violent crime.
Early the next year, the city began to see improvement. Total crime fell about 17% in the first 10 weeks of 2024, a decline Smith attributed to the new law and targeted deployments in neighborhoods with recurring problems. Temporary curfew zones were also imposed for youth in several parts of the region.