Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey said Wednesday he will seek legal guidance if the D.C. Council refuses to boost his pension to the level he says he was promised eight years ago.
But the chief declined to say whether he would resign or sue to gain the retirement package.
The council’s judiciary committee is scheduled to hear testimony Friday on a resolution to hike Ramsey’s pension from $44,000 to $60,000 a year. Ramsey, 56, at eight years the District’s longest serving chief, left Chicago in 1998 six months shy of a service promotion that would have come with a similar retirement package upgrade.
The control board pledged to revisit his pension after he was hired, Ramsey said, but no action has been taken and time’s running out.
“I never pushed it,” Ramsey said. “But now that the mayor’s no longer running, I said it’s time to get this taken care of. I just want them to do as they promised.”
If the council declines as it did in 2003, Ramsey said he’d look to his legal counsel — Mark Tuohey, chairman of the DC Sports & Entertainment Commission — for direction. He did not say he would take legal action or step down, though he acknowledged “there comes a time in every man’s career to retire.”
Mayor Anthony Williams introduced the pension resolution in April, to “ensure he doesn’t suffer because of his decision to come to D.C.,” the mayor said.
Three years ago, Council Member Kathy Patterson, then judiciary chairman, killed a similar pension proposal. With Council Member Phil Mendelson leading the panel today, Ramsey’s chances have improved.
“I think overall the chief has brought a measure of stability and progress since 1998,” Mendelson said.
Patterson, who still sits on the committee, said her position hasn’t changed.
“When we take exceptional action for exceptional benefits I think it should be based on exceptional service,” she said.
During the hearing, City Administrator Robert Bobb is slated to testify on behalf of the administration. Ramsey said he will not participate.
Under Ramsey
» Per-capita crime rate lowest since at least 1969
» 2004 and 2005 first since the mid-1980s that DC recorded fewer than 200 homicides in consecutive years
» But, MPD has been roundly criticized and sued for treatment of demonstrators
» And report on response to David Rosenbaum murder found serious problems with MPD investigation
