Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” The Metropolitan Police Department “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole” before issuing any orders, Bondi said. It was not immediately clear where the move left Pamela Smith, the city's current police chief, who works for the mayor.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb responded late Thursday that Bondi’s directive was “unlawful,” arguing that it could not be followed by the city’s police force. “Therefore, members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,” Schwalb wrote in a memo to Smith, setting up a potential legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.
On Friday morning, Schwalb petitioned a court to stop the move.
Bondi’s directive came hours after Smith directed MPD officers to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody — such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief’s directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of “sanctuary policies.”
Bondi said she was rescinding that order as well as other MPD policies limiting inquires into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants. All new directives must now receive approval from Cole, the attorney general said.
