WASHINGTON – Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday praised President Donald Trump’s surge of federal police into the city, saying it had significantly reduced carjackings.
Officers from various federal law enforcement agencies have backed up the city’s Metropolitan Police Department on patrol in the city for the past two-and-a-half weeks, with the White House taking credit for more than 1,000 arrests assisted by federal officers.
“We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,” Bowser said at a press conference. “The difference between this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents an 87% reduction in carjackings.”
Still, Bowser criticized two major aspects of Trump’s crime crackdown: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers nabbing immigrants and the deployment of National Guard soldiers.
“We know having masked ICE agents in the community has not worked, and National Guards from other states has not been an efficient use of those resources,” Bowser said.
