DC police commander placed on leave over ‘deliberately’ falsifying crime data

Commander Michael Pulliam was placed on leave and under investigation for questionable changes to crime data, five law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBC 4. Pulliam was the commander of the 3rd District, which patrols the Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights neighborhoods.

The police union has accused Pulliam of deliberately falsifying the data, and claimed that police supervisors in the department have been manipulating crime data to make it seem as though violent crime has fallen considerably in the district compared to 2024.

Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton said, "When our members respond to the scene of a felony offense where there is a victim reporting that a felony occurred, inevitably there will be a lieutenant or a captain that will show up on that scene and direct those members to take a report for a lesser offense. So, instead of taking a report for a shooting or a stabbing or a carjacking, they will order that officer to take a report for a theft or an injured person to the hospital or a felony assault, which is not the same type of classification."

Pemberton said that command staff at the department is focusing on two categories to get the numbers down: injured person to the hospital and armed with a dangerous weapon.

"When management officials are directing officers to take reports for felony assault," Pemberton said, "or if they're going back into police databases and changing offenses to felony assault, felony assault is not a category of crime that's listed on the department's daily crime stats. It's also not something that's a requirement of the FBI's uniform crime reporting program. So, by changing criminal offenses from, for example, ADW bat or ADW gun to felony assault, that would avoid both the MPD and the FBI from reporting that as a part one or a felony offense."

He added, "What we've heard through our members and through members of management that were willing to talk with the union is that this is a directive from the command staff, is that they wanna make sure that these classifications of these reports are adjusted over time to make sure that the overall crime stats stay down. And this is deliberately done."

At the time of NBC 4’s report in mid-July, crime data showed that violent crime was down 28 percent. As of Thursday, DC Police statistics said that violent crime is down 26 percent from the same period in 2024, and all crime is down seven percent.

Pemberton said in response to the 28 percent statistic, "That's preposterous. There's absolutely no way crime could be down 28%. Last year they suggested that it went down 34%."

"The Metropolitan Police Department is committed to upholding the trust and the confidence of the public," Chief Pamela Smith told the outlet in regards to the union’s claims. "Any irregularity in crime data brought to my attention will be addressed immediately. I do not condone any official reclassifying criminal offenses outside the guidelines set in MPD policy. Any allegation of this behavior will be dealt with through our internal processes, which will ensure those members are held accountable. I have the utmost confidence in the command staff leadership currently in place across the Metropolitan Police Department."

Pulliam being placed on leave also came around one week after he filed a complaint against Executive Assistant Chief of Police Andre Wright. Pulliam’s wife, Capt. Rachel Pulliam, was transferred to midnights in the 7th District from the Youth Division in April by Chief Smith. Three sources familiar with the incident said that Wright ordered Pulliam to pack of his wife’s belongings personally and deliver then to her new assignment himself. Pulliam viewed the order