‘Public Safety Demands’ Forces BLM-Sympathizer DC Mayor To Hire 170 Officers With $11M Budget

By Steeve Strange • July 29, 2021 8:13 pm

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) plans to add more officers to the police department during a public safety briefing Wednesday.

Last year, the D.C. Council decimated MPD’s budget by $15 million, leading to a spike in violent crime in the district.

Details of Bowser’s plan include an additional $11 million in budget funds for the hiring and training of 20 additional officers in the fiscal year 2021 and 150 additional officers in the fiscal year 2022.

2. The Metropolitan Police Department has been authorized to use any overtime necessary to increase their presence in neighborhoods hit hardest by gun violence. pic.twitter.com/ZdlbygthB1

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) July 28, 2021

“Right now, I have directed MPD to use any overtime necessary to meet our public safety demands. But we know that is not a complete solution or the right long-term solution,” the Democratic mayor said in a statement on Wednesday. “We also know we need all of our officers to be fresh, rested, and in the best position to make good decisions — and that requires having a full force to meet all of our community’s needs. The department is in a good position to make additional hires and move swiftly to close the gap between attrition and hiring, and that’s what this plan is going to help us do.”

Bowser says the funding will be used for immediate recruitment, hiring, and training of new officers. She also made an offer to retired officers to return to the force without penalty to their retirement funds.

If the council votes to approve the funding increase, the mayor stated, “the department will be able to begin making the necessary hires to close the gap between hiring and attrition as swiftly as possible.”