Mayor nominates new D.C.

Police Chief

Assistant Chief Pamela Smith is an ordained minister

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday announced she has nominated Assistant D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith to be the city’s next chief of police.

The police chief position became open in April when former Police Chief Robert J. Contee III, who had publicly committed to providing supportive police services for the LGBTQ community, announced he was resigning to take a position with the FBI.

Smith joined D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department in May 2022 after having served as Chief of Police for the United States Park Police in the nation’s capital. Background information on Smith released by the mayor’s office says she has more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, with most of that time with the Park Police.

In addition to serving in D.C. with the Park Police, she served in Park Police offices in New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Upon joining the D.C. police in 2022 Smith became the department’s first Chief Equity Officer assigned to the Office of the Chief of Police. She was promoted in April of this year to the position of Assistant Chief of Police for Homeland Security.

If her nomination is confirmed by the D.C. Council, Smith would make history by becoming the first African-American woman to serve as the permanent D.C. police chief since the D.C. police department was founded in 1861.

“We’re getting the full package with Chief Smith – experience, passion and a strong commitment to making D.C. safer,” Bowser said at a news conference where she announced her nomination of Smith to become police chief. “She also works with young people in her personal life as a minister and her path to public service, which she’ll share with you, is one that I know resonates with D.C.’s communities in all eight wards,” Bowser said.

The mayor was referring to Smith’s status as an ordained minister. The mayor’s office didn’t immediately disclose through which church or denomination Smith was ordained.

Her nomination must be confirmed by the D.C. Council. Political observers say they expect the Council to approve the nomination.

Among the questions that some in the LGBTQ community may be asking is whether Smith’s religious beliefs put her at odds with the LGBTQ community. A gay former D.C. police officer who knows people at the U.S. Park Police and who was familiar with Smith’s short tenure with D.C. police said they were unaware of any negative views or actions by Smith on LGBTQ related issues.

“They’ve always said good things about her,” the former officer, who asked not to be identified, said about the Park Police people who knew Smith. “And I’ve heard nothing but good things about this Chief Smith at the MPD,” the former officer said.

The Blade has requested an interview with Chief Smith to ask about her thoughts on how the D.C. police can best serve the city’s LGBTQ residents at a time when hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people in the city are at greater numbers than other minority groups targeted for hate crimes.

Another issue of interest to LGBTQ activists is a report that the number of officers assigned to the D.C. police community special liaison units, including the LGBTQ Liai- son Unit, have declined in recent years. Some police insiders have expressed concern that those units may soon run out of officers and shut down due to attrition. One reason for this, police insiders have said, is the overall shortage of police officers and the need to assign the special liaison officers to other police units.

The Blade has submitted questions to Chief Smith through the mayor’s office that include this issue and other LGBTQ issues. Mayoral spokesperson Susana Castillo said a public information office official with the MPD would arrange for such an interview.

“I think Mayor Bowser has made a good choice for D.C.’s new police chief,” said local LGBTQ rights advocate Peter Rosenstein. “I look forward to Chief Smith meeting with the LGBTQ+ community and committing to supporting the LGBTQ liaison unit,” Rosenstein told the Blade. “I have worked with, and supported her predecessors at MPD, and look forward to supporting Chief Smith,” he said.