The US President Donald Trump administration on Friday retracted its previous decision and agreed to let the Washington, DC, police chief remain in charge of the police force after a federal court’s order.
The decision to keep DC Police Chief Pamela Smith, who was appointed by the mayor, in command of the Metropolitan Police Department came after officials in the nation’s capital sued to block Trump’s takeover of the Washington police.
On Friday, US District Judge Ana Reyes observed that the Trump administration cannot legally take over the city police, but the law probably gives the president more power than the city might like.
“The way I read the statute, the president can ask, the mayor must provide, but the president can’t control,” Reyes said.
Tense relations between Trump and DC
Earlier this week, Trump had deployed hundreds of National Guard Troops in Washington, as a crime crackdown. He called it “Liberation Day” and claimed the city needed rescuing from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.”
The night before the order, Trump had expanded the purview of his takeover of the law enforcement agencies of the city and brought the police department under the control of the federal government.
The lawsuit, filed by DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, had sought a court order blocking the takeover as illegal.
The two sides sparred in the court for hours on Friday before Reyes insisted that they make a compromise.
The move to take over the capital’s police is Trump’s latest attempt to test the extent of his legal authorities.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
