DC Mayor Bowser asks for more police funding a year after city council defunded police

In an announcement on Wednesday from the DC mayor’s office, Muriel Bowser revealed her proposal for an additional 170 officers to staff the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) through 2022.

“Right now, I have directed MPD to use any overtime necessary to meet our public safety demands. But we know that is not a complete solution or the right long-term solution. We also know we need all of our officers to be fresh, rested, and in the best position to make good decisions – and that requires having a full force to meet all of our community’s needs,” Bowser is quoted as saying.

The press release directly mentions the negative impact to DC’s police as a result of last year’s “defunding” movement.

A paragraph about how the MPD had reduced hiring capacity because of a decision by city council last year to cut the police budget by $15 million, is followed up with a paragraph about how people now want more protection from “gun violence.”

DC Mayor Bowser is asking city council to approve her $11 million one-time budget request to hire more officers.

Since the beginning of the summer, members of the media have grilled Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki over the rise in violent crime across the USA.

The heinous public slaying of Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar at the hands of two teenage hijackers being a horrific highlight of what has happened so far this year in America’s capital.

It was only last Thursday that a gunman opened fire in an outdoor dining area in the city. With two confirmed injuries and a very public scene of folks fleeing the area, the best the Biden administration had to offer was a “community violence intervention collaborative.”

An effort that leaves much for Psaki to answer for.