DC Sues Trump Over Police Takeover

Less than 12 hours after the Trump administration seemingly replaced Washington, D.C.’s, police chief with a federal officer, the District is headed to federal court to block the move.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against the federal government Friday, claiming President Donald Trump has far exceeded the authority granted him in D.C.’s Home Rule Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Schwalb is seeking a temporary restraining order and to block U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Thursday night order naming the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as D.C.’s “emergency police commissioner" with all the powers of the police chief.

It also aims to ensure that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith remains in control of D.C.’s police department. The lawsuit comes less than a week after the historic federalization of D.C.'s police department.

“Congress did not grant the President authority to displace the Chief of Police, assert operational control over MPD or rescind MPD policies – as the Administration seeks to do," Schwalb's office said in a release announcing the suit.

Smith said in a court filing that Bondi's directive for DEA boss Terry Cole to assume the powers and duties of her position as chief would threaten law and order by upending the command structure, leading to delays and confusion among personnel.

“In my nearly three decades in law enforcement, I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,” Smith said.

"Imposing a new command structure “effective immediately” will wreak operational havoc within MPD and create tremendous risk for the public," Smith said in the filing. "The new command structure will create confusion for MPD personnel, who are required under District law to respect and obey the Chief of Police as the head and chief of the police force... There is no greater risk to public safety in a paramilitary organization than to not know who is in command."

In an interview with News4 on Friday, Schwalb also said the order was "dangerous to public safety," adding that the confusion it created is what pushed his office to take legal action.

"Things have escalated to a point," Schwalb said. "We saw the President at the beginning of the week begin this hostile takeover. Attorney General Bondi's order last night makes clear that that's what they are attempting to do, to actually supplant the command and control of the chief of police, and that's why we're in court this morning asking the federal court to enjoin that."

A U.S. District Court judge scheduled a 2 p.m. hearing over the motion for a temporary restraining order.

According to Bondi's directive, the Metropolitan Police Department “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders.

Bondi’s order also rescinded several of the D.C. police department’s standing orders, including one issued by Smith Thursday allowing D.C. officers to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Bondi claimed Smith’s order did not go far enough. The other rescinded orders include the D.C. police code of conduct for officers and another governing arrest warrants.

Schwalb said it's the greatest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and officials are fighting to stop it.

"By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk. The Administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home," he said.

It was not immediately clear where the move left Smith, the city's current police chief, who works for the mayor.

Schwalb said in a letter to Smith late Thursday that Bondi’s directive was “unlawful” and argued it could not be followed by the city’s police force.

“Therefore, members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” Schwalb wrote in a memo to Smith, setting up a potential legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on social media “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”

Trump, Bondi and Cole are named as defendants in the lawsuit, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service and its director.

Earlier this week, when asked about challenging the federalization of D.C. police, Bowser seemed dismissive of pursuing the legal option.

“What I would point you to is the Home Rule Charter that gives the president the ability to determine the conditions of an emergency,” Bowser said at a Monday news conference. “We could contest that, but the (president’s) authority is pretty broad.” It is not immediately clear if her feelings have changed.

Announcing the federal takeover on Monday, Trump relied on Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act. In Trump’s Executive Order, he writes, “Effective immediately, the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall provide the services of the Metropolitan Police force for Federal purposes for the maximum period permitted under section 740 of the Home Rule Act.”

While the order and the Home Rule Act can force the District to “provide the services” of D.C.’s police department, Schwalb argues in his letter to Smith, the Home Rule Act “does not authorize the President, or his delegee, to remove or replace the Chief of Police; to alter the chain of command within MPD; to demand services directly from you, MPD, or anyone other than the Mayor; to rescind or suspend MPD orders or directives; or to set the general enforcement priorities of MPD or otherwise determine how the District pursues purely local law enforcement.”