D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham is resisting calls for his resignation or firing and compared a critic on the D.C. Council to President Donald Trump.
Outgoing Councilmember David Grosso says Newsham "needs to go" and on Wednesday sent a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser saying the chief should be fired.
Grosso said Newsham pushes an outdated, tough-on-crime approach and has not been collaborative on police reform.
He also said Newsham was untruthful about D.C. police's involvement in federal forces clearing anti-racism protesters using chemical agents on June 1, which MPD has denied.
Newsham shot back at Grosso on Wednesday evening and compared the council member at-large to Trump.
“Apparently I don’t think enough like him so he says I need to be fired,” Newsham said. “I think there’s a guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue who acts the same way. It’s either my way or the highway.”
Bowser said she agrees with Newsham and supports him 100 percent.
Politics
Political news from the U.S. Capitol, White House and around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
She said she hopes Grosso will use his remaining months on the council to focus on education and making the city safer.
Grosso chairs the council's education committee and said he decided not to run in 2020 so he could "pass the baton" to a new generation of leaders.
