Congressional panel accuses DC police chief of pressuring commanders to manipulate crime data

The police chief in the nation's capital pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower the city's crime rates, according to a report by a Republican-led congressional committee. The report, released Sunday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, found that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith often threatened, punished and retaliated against police commanders who presented her with “spikes in crime.” A separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office also found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower than they are.