D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee is leaving after leading the department since early 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced on Wednesday. Multiple outlets report he is taking a job with the FBI.
Contee, who joined the D.C. police as a cadet in 1989, began serving as acting chief just four days before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and was officially confirmed three months later.
“On behalf of our city, I want to congratulate Chief Contee on his retirement and thank him for his service to DC,” Bowser said in a statement. “He has led MPD through an incredibly challenging time for our country — from the pandemic to January 6 and navigating the effects of a shrinking department during a time when gun violence is exploding across the nation.”
Contee will take a job with the FBI, according to The Washington Post and other outlets, which cited people familiar with the matter.
He bows out of the department at a time when the city is dealing with spiking homicide rates. In 2021, there were 226 murders in the district, the most since 2003. While the number dipped moderately in 2022 with 203, there have been 67 murders so far in 2023, a 20 percent increase over the the same time last year.
He also leaves as the city’s crime and policing have come under an increasing national spotlight, with federal lawmakers criticizing city policymakers over the issue and overturning a crime law passed by the city council.
The Hill has reached out to the FBI about Contee’s reported role with the bureau.