In a rare move invoked under the city’s crime emergency, D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey has put homicide detectives back on the streets.
Those detectives in charge of solving the killings that led to the declared crime emergency have been ordered back in uniform and on patrol to help stem the wave of violence that recently struck the city.
All detectives, including the department’s 43 homicide investigators, will work the beat one day a week in response to the citywide crime emergency, according to a July 21 memo by superintendent of detectives Cmdr. Michael L. Anzallo.
Ramsey declared a crime emergency last week after the District saw 14 homicides in 11 days, including the high-profile throat-slashing of a British man in Georgetown and the shooting of a political activist downtown.
Union chief Kristopher Baumann said putting detectives on patrol was another example of a poorly managed police force. Crime victims and their families will be disappointed to learn that the detectives who are supposed to be solving their crimes are out writing tickets, he said.
“What in heaven’s name is the administration doing with its resources?” Baumann asked.
Detectives couldn’t remember the last time they were all ordered to work the streets, he said.
The crime emergency allows Ramsey to adjust officers’ schedules, restrict their days off and put officers who don’t work patrol back on the street. Ramsey said last week that he wouldn’t deploy homicide detectives.
D.C. police representatives could not be reached late Friday for comment.
