D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has signed on for another five years, according to Mayor Vincent Gray, who says he's reached a contract extension with the popular police chief.
The chief will continue to earn $253,000, making her one of the highest-paid District government employees.
In a statement, Mayor Gray says he is delighted Lanier agreed to the extension, saying crime dropped during Lanier's tenure.
But Kris Baumann, who leads D.C.’s fraternal order of police, immediately criticized the announcement. Baumann says rank-and-file police officers have gone five years without any raises or cost-of-living increases, and during that time period, Lanier's salary increased by 35 percent.
Lanier remains, at least according to polls, one of the city's most popular officials, and both Gray and Baumann made note of that in their statements.
Gray says increased confidence in the police leads to better crime-fighting, while Baumann says Lanier has earned accolades by using questionable accounting to make the public believe crime was down.
The mayor's office says the contract will be presented to the D.C. Council on Friday.
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