Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to leave the Washington, D.C., for Martha’s Vineyard this week is “not a good look,” former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund told Newsmax on Thursday.
Bowser is on the Massachusetts island until her return Friday afternoon. What was first described as a “family commitment” was updated to the mayor saying she had to pick up her 7-year-old daughter from camp. Her departure came days after President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington police over what he called “out of control” crime.
In an interview with Ed Henry, guest host of “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Sund said Bowser’s absence sends the wrong signal at a time when the nation’s capital is facing a critical public safety challenge.
“This is a critical time for Washington, D.C., and I think that all of the city government should be involved in the push,” Sund said. “And it’s not a good look for her to leave right now.”
Sund said the crime crisis is rooted in years of anti-police policies.
“The city council since 2020 has passed significant anti-police, pro-criminal legislation that needs to be repealed,” he said. “That right there is the No. 1 reason you saw crime start to rise in 2020, 2021, ’22, because officers’ hands were handcuffed by these anti-police council members and members of the government.”
The former police chief said that while federal crime initiatives in Washington are not unprecedented, what makes this moment unique is Trump’s direct use of federal authority.
“We’ve done this type of stuff before: safe streets, summer crime initiatives,” Sund said. “The only difference is this time you have President Trump invoking Section 704 of the Home Rule Act, and that’s what’s gotten everybody up in arms.”
Under the Home Rule Act provision, Trump deployed federal law enforcement agencies and the National Guard to Washington streets.
“You have National Guard out there. You have all the federal agents, agencies doing it,” he said.
“They did the same thing in Baltimore in 2015. They put armed National Guard out there. These National Guard aren’t even armed right now, but they’re out there to protect the most vulnerable.”
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