Chief Charles H. Ramsey
Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC
Chairman Brazil and members of the Committee, I first want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and to congratulate you on your assignments to this important Committee. Mr. Chairman, in the last few weeks you have said on numerous occasions that you look forward to working with me and with all the members of the Metropolitan Police Department to improve police services in our city. Let me state for the record that our department—and myself and my staff, in particular—stand ready to work with you and the entire Committee in achieving our common goals of safer streets, stronger neighborhoods and a secure, less fearful citizenry.
Allow me to introduce the other members of the department who have joined me on the panel this afternoon: Executive Assistant Chief Terrance Gainer, and Assistant Chief of the department’s Institute of Police Sciences, Alfred Broadbent. Other members of the department’s Command Staff are in the audience as well.
I think it is appropriate that the first oversight hearing of this newly constituted Committee focus on the issue of police use of force. For police executives and rank-and-file officers alike, there is no issue of greater importance than our responsibilities around the use of force. And there is no issue—other than official corruption, perhaps—that can have a greater and more lasting impact on the public’s trust and confidence in the police than this one. The public has entrusted the police to carry weapons and to use force—up to and including deadly force, when necessary—in the performance of our official duties. That is a truly awesome responsibility that all police officers share. It is a responsibility that none of us takes lightly, I can assure you.
When it comes to the use of force, I have set very high standards for the Metropolitan Police Department. Fortunately, the vast, vast majority of our officers share my high standards, and live those standards every day while serving and protecting the community. It seldom makes the headlines when one of our officers diffuses a dangerous situation, or apprehends an armed and violent offender, or performs any number of heroic acts without the use of force—even when force may be allowed under law and department policy. But I am here to tell you that these situations happen every week in our city. With all the recent attention paid to police use of force, one basic fact seems to have been all but forgotten: the overwhelming majority of our officers show remarkable professionalism and restraint, often in the face of extraordinary danger.
One need travel no farther than a few blocks from this building, to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, to begin to comprehend the unique dangers faced by police officers everywhere. The situation is no different here in the District of Columbia. Last year, there was an average of almost one assault per day on a Metropolitan Police officer, and we have lost far too many officers killed in the line of duty in recent years. So I am very aware of the environment in which our officers must work. And I am very proud of the courage and professionalism they display.
But the dangers that are inherent to policing in no way relieve this or any other police department from our solemn responsibility to use force prudently. Nor do those dangers lessen in any way our responsibility to investigate thoroughly, accurately and expeditiously those instances in which force is used. When it comes to an issue as critical as this one, our department must be prepared to stand the test of scrutiny from the media, from our elected representatives, from the community.
As Chief, my job is to ensure that our officers have the tools, the training and the investigative support they need to perform their jobs safely, effectively and with the trust and confidence of the community. I take that responsibility very seriously. However, upon coming to the District nine months ago, I discovered that in the past this department did not always provide our officers with these basic necessities concerning use of force. Therefore, one of my top priorities this past year has been to improve the department’s efforts in four key areas: use of force policies, training, technology and investigations. We have made important progress in all four areas.
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