A congressional panel is investigating the alleged manipulation of Washington, D.C., crime data by senior officials at the Metropolitan Police Department to create the appearance of lower crime rates in the nation’s capital.
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) launched the investigation Monday and revealed that a whistleblower came forward with allegations that MPD routinely manipulated crime statistics at the behest of senior department officials who instructed commanders to downgrade certain charges.
“MPD has a duty under federal and local law to accurately report crime to the public. However, in May, MPD placed Third District Commander Michael Pulliam on administrative leave following allegations that he altered crime reports. Unfortunately, this practice does not appear to be isolated, nor is it a recent development. MPD recently entered into a settlement agreement related to allegations that senior MPD officials were engaged in falsifying crime statistics to artificially lower reported crime rates,” Comer said in a statement, referring to previously known allegations that MPD altered its crime data.
Pulliam’s suspension took place after he filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against an assistant police chief. He has denied the allegations and is on paid leave. The D.C. police union has alleged that Pulliam’s purported behavior is part of a larger issue with management ordering staff to alter classifications of serious offenses to keep the crime stats down.
The whistleblower’s allegations to Comer mirrors the D.C. police union’s assertions about the crime data and senior staff’s disregard for the judgement of beat cops.
“The whistleblower stated this manipulation is accomplished by supervisors—with only a cursory understanding of the facts and circumstances of the crime—ignoring the judgement of patrol officers who actually interviewed witnesses and collected evidence by recommending reduced charges,” Comer said.
D.C.’s 2025 crime data shows a notable decrease in overall crime and a startling 25 percent reduction in violent crime this year. Washington experienced a surge in violent crime form 2017-21 and another spike in 2023, a year that saw several crimes perpetrated against notable public figures.
D.C.’s crime statistics became the subject of national debate when President Trump federalized D.C. and sent in the National Guard to clean up the nation’s capital. Trump’s D.C. takeover has resulted in noticeable drops in criminal activity, including no murders over the past 13 days. According to the police union, robberies are down 42 percent and violent crime is down 25 percent compared to the two-week stretch prior to the Trump administration’s takeover. Property crime is down 10 percent and total crime is down 11 percent, the union said Monday.
Trump assumed control of D.C.’s law enforcement capabilities after former Department of Government Efficiency staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine was violently assaulted by a group of teenagers during an attempted carjacking earlier this month.
National Guard troops have been seen around high visibility areas of D.C. patrolling as if they were beat cops. The guardsmen’s presence was particularly noticeable around Union Station, the city’s transportation hub, because vagrants were cleared out of the area and a park adjacent to the station was cleaned up.