DC council chair says accusations of 'cooking' crime statistics is a lie

The head of the D.C. Police Union is accusing the Metro Police Department of lowering felonies to

lesser crimes to make D.C. look safer than it really is. Now the chair of the D.C. City Council

is telling Congress under oath that Union head Greg Pemberton is lying. Mr. Pemberton lying

head of the FOP? Yes. You think he's lying? Wow. Wow. Here's the accusations from the D.C. Police Union and some of its officers

as described by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. Mr. Pemberton said when our members respond to the scene of a felony offense

inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on the scene

and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense. Councilman Mendelson wanted to say more about the accusations

citing ongoing investigations by the DOJ, Congress, and the Metro Police Department

In response to Mendelsohn's accusation, Union Chair Greg Pemberton said, I hope that Chairman Mendelsohn has time to correct or amend his testimony

before he himself is investigated for perjury and lying to Congress. The accusation was made during a House Oversight Committee hearing which focused on crime in the district Congressional Democrats and district leadership repeatedly called for the restoration of billion that was stripped from their budget after Congress

passed a spending bill that forced D.C. to keep its 2024 spending level for 2025

That additional $1.1 billion would largely go to public safety and education

So lack of full autonomy also prevents us from using the money that we raised in taxes

like happened this year. Taxes that we raised in the district cut from our approved budget

which forced us to cut services, including the pay raises that our police officers are due

being delayed until this October. D.C. wants to use that money to hire an additional 600 police

officers and give current officers a 13 percent raise, but that's delayed due to the funding cut

The continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for seven weeks past September 30th includes a measure that would restore D.C.'s $1.1 billion

But Congress may not have enough time to approve it. They've only got 12 days

I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News. For more unbiased reporting straight from our nation's capital, download the SAN app