❓WHAT HAPPENED: The D.C. Police Union chairman, Gregg Pemberton, accused senior officials of manipulating crime statistics by minimizing or omitting reports of violent crimes.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton, senior D.C. police officials, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Washington, D.C., August 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Sometimes a robbery will be reported as a theft… burglary reported as unlawful entry… [W]e’re very skeptical that these crime stats are accurate.” – Gregg Pemberton
🎯IMPACT: Federal authorities have launched a probe into the possible manipulation of crime data.
Gregg Pemberton, Chairman of the D.C. Police Union, has accused top officials within the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of deliberately manipulating crime data in Washington, D.C. According to Pemberton, officers are often directed at crime scenes to either understate the severity of incidents or not document them at all: “They respond to the scenes of these violent crimes and, inevitably, you’ll have a captain, or a commander show up on the scene and advise them to take a report for a lesser offense,” he said during a cable news interview.
“Sometimes a robbery will be reported as a theft… burglary reported as unlawful entry… [W]e’re very skeptical that these crime stats are accurate,” he added.
In some cases, Pemberton said, police leaders will direct officers not to record a crime at all if a victim has been shot or stabbed but is not co-operating, and instead simply file an injured person report.
In response to these serious claims, U.S. Attorney Pirro and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have initiated an investigation into the falsification of crime data. One MPD commander, Michael Pulliam, is already facing charges.
At the federal level, Attorney General Pam Bondi has provided updates on President Donald J. Trump’s federalization of law enforcement in the American capital, reporting that authorities have made over 550 arrests so far. Among those taken into custody is a member of the MS-13 gang.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has also confirmed that 48 homeless encampments had been dismantled as part of the administration’s broader strategy to restore public order.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! The chairman of the DC Police Union reveals how extensive the FRAUD was in hiding the true DC crime stats: Higher-ups were going to crime scenes and saying “don’t write that one down” or “don’t add that to the list,” or “put that down as a more minor offense.”… pic.twitter.com/9Srf9CGWmz
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 19, 2025
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