WASHINGTON — The chairman of the union representing D.C.'s police officers did not hold back his feelings Wednesday after a hospital visit to four of his officers injured in the line of duty.
Three officers were shot and a fourth injured Wednesday morning while attempting to serve a warrant for animal cruelty to a home in the 5000 block of Hanna Place, Southeast. When officers arrived around 7:30 a.m., the man charged refused to come out of the house and began firing shots. As of 5 p.m., the barricade scene was still ongoing after more than 10 hours. Police say they are in communication with the suspect who at times appears to communcate effectively, and at others appears very agitated.
DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton said the officers were with the criminal apprehension unit, assisting the Humane Rescue Alliance. The unit typically helps to serve warrants on violent felons.
Pemberton said the officers' injuries were serious but not life-threatening, and all the officers were in good spirits.
"I just spoke with all three officers," Pemberton said around 11 a.m. "One officer was shot twice. Luckily, his armor absorbed both of those rounds. Other officers were struck in the lower extremities."
He added that the officers injured are veterans of the department, calling them "tough."
Pemberton said he believes these types of situations are the result of a lack of officers and consequences for criminals.
"We are short 500 police officers right now and this is all due to the city’s council passage of the comprehensive police reform act," Pemberton said. "It makes a terrible working environment.”
The union’s response comes just days after the DC Council passed a public safety bill that includes dozens of changes to criminal punishment and policing laws in response to violent crime spikes. Twelve members voted in favor of the bill, with Councilmember Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) voting present.
Mayor Muriel Bowser did not speak at the scene with Police Chief Pamela Smith, but came to the hospital to check on the officers. She also briefly addressed the shooting at a scheduled event she attended with D.C.'s senior citizens at the Deanwood Recreation Center in Northeast.
"It goes to show how important it is that we support our police, to make sure we are hiring the best of the best and to make sure as a community that if we se something wrong, we are calling on MPD because MPD is going to show up for us every time," the mayor told the crowd alongside officials from the Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL).
According to data compiled by the National Fraternal Order of Police, 379 police officers were shot in the line of duty in 2023. That's a 59% increase over five years, when 237 officers were shot.
In our area, that breaks down to:
- 2 officers shot in D.C.
- 6 officers shot in Maryland
- 8 officers shot in Virginia
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