D.C. Council Passes Emergency Police Reform Bill, Excludes Measures to Shrink Police Force
Councilmember David Grosso had pushed to set a cap on the number of officers in the Metropolitan Police Department, but did not succeed.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty
The D.C. Council unanimously passed an emergency police reform bill which will require bodycam footage to be made more readily available after a police shooting, set limits on police use of force and bar the Metropolitan Police Department from purchasing military-style equipment, among other efforts. The emergency bill only requires one vote to be put in place and will remain for 90 days.
An effort to reduce the size of the police force from the current total 3,863 officers to a cap of 3,500 within the scope of this bill by At-Large Councilmember David Grosso was shot down. Other councilmembers said they agreed with the goal of shrinking the force, but did not believe Grosso’s method was the proper way to do so. The District employs 55 MPD officers per 10,000 residents, a higher ratio than in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago or New York.
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