‘BITCH, I AM THE POLICE’

D.C. Police Panel Prevented the Termination of 24 Officers Accused of Misconduct

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's own investigators found that at least 64 officers currently employed by the department had engaged in some type of criminal misconduct.

Documents obtained by Reveal and WAMU/DCist show how the Adverse Action Panel, made up of high-ranking officers in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and led by the current police chief Robert J. Contee, blocked terminations and disciplinary action against 24 officers involved in serious wrongdoing between 2009 and 2019.

Those officers instead received an average 29-day suspension without pay despite their records of domestic violence, stalking, indecent exposure, drunk driving, sexual solicitation, and more. Each of the officers was able to stay on the force, at least six as a direct result of the panel’s decision making. According to the files, one officer, Jonathan Goodman, allegedly hit two women at a restaurant and when they threatened to call the police he flashed his badge and said, “Bitch, I am the police.” 21 of the 24 officers still work with the force and remain authorized to enact deadly force.