In their first meeting since Adrian Fenty handily won the Democratic mayoral nomination, the presumptive mayor-elect told D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey Tuesday that he wants a more visible force.
The two men did not talkabout Ramsey’s future in a Fenty administration and instead discussed their visions for the department. They both described it as a “great meeting.”
“I firmly believed Chief Ramsey has done a great job putting together a police department that’s much more professional, that responds better and is rid of corruption,” Fenty said during a post-meeting news conference on the steps of the District Building.
The meeting was one of a series that Fenty has had with the top District government leaders this week.
Fenty, 35, has said that the police department needs “new blood,” and that, while the chief deserved credit for revitalizing the department, Ramsey hadn’t gone far enough.
He repeated Tuesday statements he made last week that he doubted Ramsey would last through his four-year mayoral term, but said he would need the chief during the transition of the new administration and wouldn’t decide on the police chief job until after the Nov. 7 general election.
The two were warm and in agreement Tuesday.
More Metropolitan police need to walk the beat; recreation and schools can play a greater role to reduce crime, they agreed, and raising the number of police officers from 3,800 to 4,200 is a valid goal.
“His vision is not incompatible with my own,” Ramsey, 56, said. “We’re going to have a very, very good mayor here.”
When asked whether the two disagreed on any issue during their meeting,
Ramsey quickly and emphatically answered, “No” before his future boss had a chance to respond. Fenty laughed.
The D.C. Council next month is expected to approve a $16,000 increase to Ramsey’s pension, bringing his early retirement payment from $44,000 to $60,000.
The pension had been denied once.
