DC Police Union president upset over detail assigned to Council Chair Phil Mendelson
DC police union upset over detail assigned to Council Chair Phil Mendelson
Tempers flared in the nation's capital Tuesday night over what appears to be a new police assignment on Capitol Hill, guarding the home of a top local elected official. FOX 5's Bob Barnard reports. The D.C. Police Union president says he's upset that MPD is having to station an officer and cruiser outside the home of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson up on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON - Tempers flared in the nation's capital Tuesday night over what appears to be a new police assignment on Capitol Hill, guarding the home of a top local elected official.
The D.C. Police Union president says he's upset that MPD is having to station an officer and cruiser outside the home of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson up on Capitol Hill.
What we know:
A police cruiser was stationed across the street from Mendelson's home near 13th and E Streets, Southeast, all Tuesday afternoon.
One neighbor told FOX 5 it's been there 24/7 since a late-night protest last weekend. The rally was about Mendelson's desire to pause Initiative 82 about how tipped workers are paid in the city.
Neighbors say many people called police about the noise but it was the call made by council Mendelson that inspired the posting on X by the police union, claiming that Mendelson yelled at staff at the office of Unified Command that fields 911 calls.
What they're saying:
Union President Greggory Pemberton is blasting the new assignment for its understaffed department for somebody he claims was a proponent of defunding the police.
"How dare Chairman Mendelson come over the radio or come over that 911 dispatchers and demand immediate response for something as innocent as some peaceful protesters shouting outside his house. The hypocrisy and the irony is lost on him, I'm sure. But the despicable nature of his demand for immediate security, it resonates with every police officer on this department and frankly, it's sickening," Pemberton said.
The union says Mendelson was also mad that it took so long for police to respond.
"This detail needs to end immediately. This is a ridiculous security blanket for the chairman of the D.C. council because some activists came to his house shouting about the budget. That officer needs to be out answering 911 calls so they can respond to real emergencies when people actually pick up the phone and they need a police officer respond right away. That's what that officer should be doing. Not sitting in front of Chairman Mendelson's house trying to make him feel safe," Pemberton said.
The other side:
Mendelson's office says he's not available for comment but provided a statement, saying, "The Union’s claim is made-up and false. I would invite them to listen to the tape. It is also inappropriate for the Union to publicly discuss security procedures for elected officials."
Law enforcement sources tell us the police cruiser parked here is not an around-the-clock, indefinite assignment.
D.C. police say they do not comment on staffing or tactics.