D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has tapped Chief Ashan Benedict as the District’s interim police leader as her nationwide search for a permanent replacement for Chief Robert Contee III continues.
Chief Benedict clarified at his introductory press conference Friday that he has no interest in permanently taking on the role.
“I’m not putting in for the job,” Chief Benedict said, adding that he agreed to be interim chief to bring stability to the department during the mayor’s search. “My focus is on the city, and quelling the violence in the city.”
He said he plans to resume his role as executive assistant chief of police after Ms. Bowser selects her long-term candidate.
Chief Benedict, who joined the Metropolitan Police Department as an assistant chief in 2021, has run MPD’s day-to-day operations since being appointed by Chief Contee.
Chief Contee said it was a “seamless transition” moving command over to Chief Benedict, who has had stints running the department when Chief Contee was away on business or personal travel.
Chief Contee’s last day with MPD is June 3. He is leaving the department to take a position with the FBI.
Ms. Bowser wouldn’t commit to a timeline for when a permanent chief would be named other than “as soon as possible.” She also did not say how many people have applied for the job.
The Democratic mayor said she is seeking a “leader and a crime fighter” as the next chief. “While you don’t have to be from Washington, D.C., you better know it darn well,” she added.
Chief Benedict began working as a special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the District in 1998, where he investigated drug-trafficking organizations, carjackings, gang-related racketeering murders and gun trafficking, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.
High-profile incidents Chief Benedict has worked as a federal agent include the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack at the Pentagon; the Beltway sniper investigation in 2002; the Navy Yard shooter in 2013; and the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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