House Oversight Committee Probes D.C. Police Over Alleged Crime Data Manipulation

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has opened an investigation into whether Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime statistics to understate the city’s crime rate. In a letter sent Monday to Police Chief Pamela Smith, Committee Chairman James Comer cited a whistleblower who claims senior MPD officials routinely instructed district commanders to downgrade criminal charges, potentially affecting all seven patrol districts. Lawmakers are seeking internal documents, communications and transcribed interviews—including testimony from commanders—by Sept. 2. The probe follows a recent legal settlement over separate allegations that officials falsified data, after which Third District Commander Michael Pulliam was placed on administrative leave. Comer said the inquiry aims to determine the extent of any data manipulation and its impact on public reporting of crime in the nation’s capital.