The second-highest ranking official in Washington, D.C.'s police department, who also has been at the center of at least one probe on whether the agency unreported crime statistics, has been placed on administrative leave. 

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Thursday that Andre Wright, the executive assistant chief for patrol operations, was placed on leave, after multiple law enforcement sources told local TV station News4 that Wright was asked for his gun and badge.  

His wife, Inspector Natasha Wright, a high-ranking official in the department's human resources office, also was reportedly placed on administrative leave. 

The department said it cannot comment on "active internal investigations and personnel matters."

However, multiple sources told the TV station that Wright was placed on leave after the department seized his phone as part of its internal investigation into crime statistics. 

Wright is also one the department officials named in a Justice Department draft memo last year regarding the agency's probe into whether MPD manipulated crime data to make rates appear lower.

In addition to the MDP and DOJ, Congress also launched investigations into MPD’s crime data. 

The GOP-led House Oversight panel said in December 2025 that MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith, who has since resigned, "pressured and at times directed commanders to manipulate crime data in order to maintain the appearance of low crime in the nation’s capital."

While crime overall declined last year in the national capital, compared to pandemic highs, some, including car-jackings, remained high. President Trump, as a result, deployed National Guard troops to patrol city streets.