Written By Lexx Thornton
Police officers will get a 13% raise next month, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday morning. It will cost the city at least $200 million over the next four years, city administrator Kevin Donahue said.Â
It’s part of a new collective bargaining agreement with D.C.’s police union. Bowser, along with Police Chief Pamela Smith and Council Chair Phil Mendelson, announced the new labor agreement with the D.C. Fraternal Order of Police Union. They also said there will be raises for non-union officers ranked lieutenant and higher.Â
Bowser, who has long called for hiring 500 more police officers, said Wednesday that the goal is to reach 4,000 officers. Currently, Bowser said, there are 3,188 sworn officers in the Metropolitan PoliceÂ
Department. She hopes that raises and the new labor agreement will help help recruit more officers, therefore relieving the MPD’s reliance on overtime.Â
That 13% comes from cost-of-living adjustments for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026. It starts Oct. 1.Â
Mendelson said he expects the council will pass emergency legislation at the Sept. 17 meeting approving the pay raises. He referenced criticism of the council’s police reform and dissent between the members in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests at that time.Â
“This is a different council than what we had in 2020,” Mendelson said. “It’s actually a different society across the country with regard toward its attitude about public safety.”Â
MPD is also working on an agreement with the University of the District of Columbia to apply police academy training hours as up to 60 hours of college credit. This adds to the Metropolitan Police Department Training Academy College Credit Opportunity Amendment Act of 2025, passed earlier this summer, which makes the initial training academy and supplementary instruction period worth up to 20 college credits.Â
