DC police chief retires after two years of leading force, with homicides on record pace, to join FBI

Contee was sworn in as chief at the start of January 2021, and crime has risen dramatically during that time.

Published: April 27, 2023 7:40am

D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III is retiring after 33 years with the department to become an assistant director at the FBI.

His last day on the force will be June 3, he said Wednesday.

"I want to congratulate Chief Contee on his retirement and thank him for his service to DC — for leading MPD with passion and purpose," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said. "He has pushed our criminal justice system to do more and be better."

Contee was sworn in as chief at the start of January 2021, and crime has risen dramatically during that time. He took over just after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Homicides rose nearly 15% during his first year as chief. While they fell slightly in 2022, D.C. is on track this year to have the most homicides in nearly two decades, according to NBC Washington.

Police officers have also increasingly left the department under Contee. When he first became chief, the agency had 3,800 sworn officers, but it fell to 3,362 by April 2023.

Contee is expected to work at the FBI headquarters in D.C.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.