AG Racine and CM Allen on nomination of New D.C. MPD Chief Robert J. Contee III

Robert Contee via MPD

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she has named 31-year Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) veteran Robert Contee as the next MPD Chief of Police. Contee joined MPD in 1989 and has served as Assistant Chief of the Investigative Services Bureau at MPD since 2018.

A native Washingtonian, Acting Chief Contee began his career at MPD as a police cadet in November 1989. He became a sworn member of the Department three years later and quickly rose through the ranks, serving in a variety of assignments. Most recently, as the Assistant Chief of the Investigative Services Bureau at MPD, he worked with the community to solve crimes, bring offenders to justice, support the recovery of victims, and protect witnesses.

Acting Chief Contee holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Studies with a concentration in Police Science from George Washington University. He has also completed the Management College at the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration and the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) of the Police Executive Research Forum in Boston, Massachusetts.”

From AG Racine’s Office:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today issued the following statement after news that Mayor Bowser has selected Robert J. Contee III as the District of Columbia’s next Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department:

“I am thrilled for Chief Contee, an experienced and eminently qualified law enforcement officer who has my full support.

“Chief Contee knows from growing up in the District and serving in the Metropolitan Police Department for over 30 years that community trust is critical to reducing crime. He cares about strengthening ties between MPD and the District’s communities. To that end, I am confident that he will directly engage with District residents to learn about their hopes and needs.

“In his comments and actions, Chief Contee has demonstrated a willingness to embrace public health approaches to violence and crime in the District.

“Moreover, he values the law enforcement partners who make up D.C.’s criminal justice system–including the Office of the Attorney General–and will collaborate with them to enhance public safety and fair policing.

“I trust that Chief Contee hears the calls for racial justice ringing across the country and will work to address the District’s structural barriers to equality.

“While a full engagement of the community on the important questions of what District residents want and expect from those who police them would have been instructive, I have long believed Chief Contee to be a great fit for this role. When I served as Co-Chair of Mayor-elect Vincent Gray’s Public Safety and Justice Committee in late 2010, I recommended that then-Officer Contee be appointed the Chief. My faith in Chief Contee’s qualifications remains strong.”

From CM Allen’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced she would be nominating Assistant Chief Robert Contee to lead the Metropolitan Police Department. The Council will need to advise and consent on the Mayor’s nominee, a process that will be led by the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.

The following is a statement from the Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Councilmember Charles Allen:

“First, I want to congratulate Assistant Chief Robert Contee on his nomination, the next step in the accomplished career of a D.C. native who has risen through the Metropolitan Police Department’s ranks. I’ve known Assistant Chief Contee for many years, including his previous role as 1st District Commander, and I have a deep respect for him and his service.

In the new year, the Committee will announce the confirmation process for Assistant Chief Contee. Given the important moment we are in as a community and a nation, and the central role the Chief of the Department will play in the future of public safety and policing, the public will play an important role and the Committee will create several ways for input to be heard.

I will be looking to hear from the nominee not just about how the Department has changed during his tenure, but about where he wants to take the Department in the future – and how his approach to leadership will address the challenges in public safety and policing that we face as a city. This moment demands someone prepared to tackle systemic racism in the District and within policing culture, repair relationships in the communities served by MPD, advance a public health approach to eliminating violence, and use the law and Constitution to demonstrate empathy, humility, innovation, and vision.”