Trump Slams “Phony” DC Crime Stats as Federal Takeover Begins

The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., is under scrutiny for allegedly altering crime statistics just weeks before President Donald Trump placed the city’s police force under federal control, as reported by Fox News.

In July, D.C. Police Union chairman Gregg Pemberton accused commanders of directing officers to downgrade serious crimes into lesser offenses in order to present more favorable crime data.

“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.”

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The allegations surfaced after the suspension of D.C. Police Commander Michael Pulliam in May. Pulliam was accused of falsifying data to make crime rates look more favorable, though he has denied wrongdoing.

A D.C. police commander is under investigation for allegedly making changes to crime statistics in his district. The police union claims supervisors manipulate crime data to make it appear violent crime has fallen considerably compared to last year. https://t.co/WO9tlQ5uxt

— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) July 18, 2025

A week before his suspension, Pulliam filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against a superior. The department has confirmed an investigation is underway but has declined to comment further, citing internal personnel matters.

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President Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on Monday, federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days. The move came after a series of violent incidents, including high-profile killings and attacks.

“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said at the White House.

“And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.” He also announced that the National Guard and multiple federal law enforcement agencies would assist in restoring order.

At an Oval Office press conference Thursday, Trump addressed the claims of manipulated statistics directly.

“They are under investigation right now. They are giving this phony crime stats just like they gave other stats in the financial world. But they’re phony crime stats. And Washington, D.C., is at its worst point, and it will soon be at its best point. You’re gonna have a very safe, you’re going to have a crime-free city.”

The America First Legal Foundation, founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, confirmed it filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Metropolitan Police Department, seeking all crime records and data, including any evidence of falsification.

Democratic lawmakers and local leaders pushed back against Trump’s move, citing police data that claims violent crime is at a 30-year low. “Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a 30-year low,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday.

Hillary Clinton also weighed in, posting on X: “As you listen to an unhinged Trump try to justify deploying the National Guard in DC, here’s reality: Violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low.”

As you listen to an unhinged Trump try to justify deploying the National Guard in DC, here’s reality:

Violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low.https://t.co/aa33NmPBbN pic.twitter.com/zicp8uauLf

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 11, 2025

Despite those claims, recent data reflects a more complex picture. Homicides in D.C. spiked to 274 in 2023, a 20-year high, before dropping by 31% in 2024 to 187.

Violent crime overall fell by 35% year over year, but a study by the Council on Criminal Justice published in July found that the lethality of violent crime has dramatically increased.

Between 2018 and 2024, D.C. recorded a 38% increase in crime lethality, the highest among 17 major U.S. cities. Compared with 2012, lethality rose by 341%, jumping from 13 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes to 57 per 1,000.

“You have less chance of being victimized, but if you are victimized, you have more of a chance of dying,” John Jay adjunct lecturer Jillian Snider told Fox News Digital.

The D.C. Police Union has voiced support for Trump’s intervention, dismissing claims that crime is under control. “We completely agree with the president here that crime in the district is out of control and something needs to be about it,” Pemberton told FOX Business.

“This concept that crime is down is really an old trope. They’re using statistics in a way that makes it appear that crime is going down, but our rank-in-file officers know that we’re going call to call to call, for armed carjackings, stabbings, robberies, shootings, homicides and the crime isn’t going anywhere.”

The investigation into alleged falsification of crime statistics remains ongoing.

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