A long-running labor dispute could soon be over, clearing the way for the first pay increases for D.C. police officers in almost eight years, Chief Cathy Lanier said on WAMU Friday.
Thursday night, Lanier spoke at a community meeting trying to reassure residents worried about police misconduct and that the police aren't really on the job for them.
“We really, really need people in the community to tell us when something is not right,” she said.
On the WAMU Politics Hour Friday, the chief also was trying to reassure her own officers that the city backs them. One caller cited the lack of pay raises.
An arbitrator is expected to rule on raises before March, Lanier said and the police union confirmed.
“There's not a police chief in this country that doesn't want their cops to get a pay raise,” Lanier said.
The chief also said the department has far tougher recruiting requirements to root out bad cops.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
“With the polygraph examination, which we added just two years ago, we lose about 40 percent of the applicants.”
