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Residents press council to limit MPD’s cooperation with federal task force after several shootings and detentions
Summary
More than 100 public witnesses at the Feb. 25 Judiciary Committee hearing urged the council to stop MPD cooperation with federal task‑force operations, demand identification and body‑camera transparency for federal agents, close a Sanctuary Values Act loophole, and consider emergency measures after the killing of Julian Bailey by U.S. Marshals and several other shootings.
Dozens of residents, advocates and service providers testified for hours about the increased presence of federal tactical teams in Washington and the effects on immigrant, Black and youth communities. Witnesses described traffic stops and raids by federal agents, unmarked vehicles, officers with faces covered, and limited transparency about who is present at arrests.
“We need federal officers to be subject to the same rules and we urge you to require that federal officers operating in DC display names and badge numbers,” said Kia Chatterjee of FreeDC (public testimony). Tracing several recent high‑profile incidents, multiple speakers demanded emergency and statutory reforms: require arrest reports to list all officers and agencies present; prohibit face coverings for federal officers operating in public; extend the body‑worn camera access law so footage captured by MPD officers when federal agents use serious force must be made public; and close the Sanctuary Values Act loophole that advocates say has allowed transfers to federal custody.
Family members also testified. Tranise Bailey, whose husband Julian Bailey was shot and killed by U.S. Marshals on Feb. 11, urged the council to demand information and accountability. “Why were U.S. Marshals involved? What are you hiding?” she asked. Committee members repeatedly asked MPD whether it is patrolling jointly with federal ERO/ICE operations; Chief Jeffrey Carroll said MPD is not on joint patrols with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations since the federal emergency ended and that some federal agencies (HSI, U.S. Marshals, Park Police) operate in the city and sometimes act on lookouts they hear on shared channels.
Council members asked for follow‑up data: OPC and MPD were asked to provide counts of complaints tied to federal task‑force actions, the list of federal agencies operating in the task force, logs of federal presence at roll calls, and any body‑camera or other files that may be releasable to the committee. MPD said it does not centrally track a field‑level “who was on the joint patrol” variable and that many federal agencies maintain their own arrest reporting systems; MPD indicated it would pursue practical steps such as joint training and policy reviews of LPR/BWC usage to increase transparency.
