DC Police Chief Retires After Two Years of Leading Force With Homicides on Record Pace

D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III Retires to Join FBI

After 33 years of service with the department, D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III is retiring to become an assistant director at the FBI. His last day on the force will be June 3, 2023.

Congratulations and Thanks from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser

D.C. Mayor chief-contee”>Muriel Bowser congratulated Chief Contee on his retirement and thanked him for his service to DC. She praised him for leading MPD with passion and purpose and pushing the criminal justice system to do more and be better.

Challenges During Contee’s Tenure

Contee was sworn in as chief at the start of January 2021, just after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. During his first year as chief, homicides rose nearly 15%. While they fell slightly in 2022, D.C. is on track this year to have the most homicides in nearly two decades, according to NBC Washington.

Police officers have also increasingly left the department under Contee. When he first became chief, the agency had 3,800 sworn officers, but it fell to 3,362 by April 2023.

Contee’s Future at the FBI

Contee is expected to work at the FBI headquarters in D.C. as an assistant director. We wish him all the best in his new role!

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.