Pamela Smith, the former chief of the U.S. Park Police and a current assistant chief with the Metropolitan Police Department, is a serious contender to be the District’s next top cop.
A source within the Metropolitan Police Department told The Washington Times that Assistant Chief Smith, who runs the department’s Homeland Security Bureau, is the internal front-runner to succeed Chief Robert Contee III.
Candidates from Chicago and Baltimore have also interviewed for the job as part of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s nationwide search.
Chief Smith has only been with the department a year — serving first as the MPD’s chief equity officer before being tapped to lead its homeland security efforts — but was with Park Police for the 24 years prior.
She retired suddenly from her role as chief of USPP in April 2022 after a little over a year in the job.
Park Police were dealing with issues that predated Chief Smith’s tenure, which included deficiencies at its dispatch center in Southeast and the ongoing legal process stemming from the 2017 shooting of motorist Bijan Ghaisar.
The Park Police’s union had also criticized USPP and the National Park Service for lackluster recruitment efforts.
Ms. Bowser elevated Ashan Benedict to interim police chief on May 19. Chief Contee, who joined MPD as a 17-year-old cadet in 1989, will work his final day with the department on Saturday. He is leaving D.C.’s police force to join the FBI.
Chief Benedict said he has no interest in taking over the role permanently. He plans on resuming his duties as executive assistant chief of police once Ms. Bowser concludes her search.
The Democratic mayor said she is looking for “a leader and a crime fighter” to be the city’s next top cop.
“While you don’t have to be from Washington, D.C., you better know it darn well,” she added.
MPD has a deep roster of assistant chiefs who could replace Chief Contee outside of Assistant Chief Smith, including:
— Morgan Kane, assistant chief, Patrol Services North
— Andre Wright, assistant chief, Patrol Services South
— Leslie Parsons, assistant chief, Investigative Services Bureau
— Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief, Internal Affairs Bureau
— Pamela Wheeler-Taylor, assistant chief, Youth and Family Engagement Bureau
— Stuart Emerman, assistant chief, Technical and Analytical Services Bureau
— Michael Coligan, assistant chief, Professional Development Bureau.
MPD’s Assistant Chief Morgan Kane and Assistant Chief Andre Wright are two of the more public-facing leaders in the department as they oversee police patrols throughout the city.
Chief Kane, who is responsible for patrols in Northwest and a majority of the Northeast neighborhoods, spoke to the media outside of Theodore Roosevelt High School on May 17 after a teen was shot and killed near campus.
Chief Wright, who oversees patrols in Southeast and Southwest as well as a portion of Northeast that lies east of the Anacostia River, held a press briefing Mother’s Day evening after 10-year-old Arianna Davis was fatally hit by a stray bullet.
Chief Wright is currently serving as the interim executive assistant chief.
The mayor nominates a candidate to serve as MPD’s chief and the D.C. City Council confirms the selection. The council has no say on who serves as the interim police chief.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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