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The Trump administration will partially roll back its takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police after legal challenges. Chief Pamela Smith stays in charge.
The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday. (AP photo)
The Trump administration has agreed to scale back its controversial takeover of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) following a legal challenge and mounting pressure from local officials, according to a report by The Guardian.
The agreement, announced on Friday evening, keeps MPD Chief Pamela Smith in charge, reversing an earlier move by US Attorney General Pam Bondi to install Drug and Enforcement Administration (DEA) official Terry Cole as the department’s emergency commissioner.
Now, Cole has to go through Mayor Muriel Bowser in order to provide directions to the police department, CNN reported.
Those services, according to Bondi’s two-page order, would include assisting federal immigration enforcement, contrary to DC “sanctuary city” policies constraining metropolitan police department action on immigration.
TThe move comes after the District’s emergency request for a restraining order against what it called a “hostile takeover” of the police force.
US District Judge Ana C. Reyes signaled she would block the federal move if no compromise was reached. During hearings, she questioned the administration’s authority to override local control of police.
“I still do not understand on what basis the president, through the attorney general, through Mr. Cole, can say: ‘You, police department, can’t do anything unless I say you can,’” Reyes told a justice department lawyer, according to the report.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed suit on Friday morning, calling the takeover unconstitutional under the Home Rule Act. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Schwalb insisted Chief Smith remain in command, rejecting Bondi’s authority to appoint federal personnel over local police.
The Trump administration appointed Cole as the “emergency police commissioner” for Washington DC, which gave the federal government more control over the city. However, local leaders disagreed with this decision and quickly took legal action to challenge it.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
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