Peter Newsham: Difference between revisions
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Newsham lives in Southeast Washington. He has two children from a previous marriage.<ref name=wp20170223/> |
Newsham lives in Southeast Washington. He has two children from a previous marriage.<ref name=wp20170223/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 21:19, 10 December 2019
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|
Peter Newsham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 or 1964 (age 60–61)[1] |
| Alma mater | College of the Holy Cross |
| Police career | |
| Allegiance |  District of Columbia |
| Department |  Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia |
| Rank | Chief of Police |
Peter Newsham (born 1963 or 1964) is currently chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Newsham was appointed by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in January 2017, replacing outgoing Police Chief Cathy Lanier, for whom he served as deputy. Newsham was selected for the top job despite being passed over for the Chief of Police in other jurisdictions and losing police powers on multiple occasions.[2] Since his appointment homicides in D.C. have reached multi-year highs.[3]
Early life and education
Newsham grew up in Massachusetts and attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross. He earned a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2000.
Career
Newsham joined MPDC around 1990.[1] While serving as an officer, Newsham's police powers were revoked on multiple occasions, including one instance where he was passed out on the sidewalk with his revolver.[2] His then wife reported scars, bruises and acquired a protective order against Newsham.[2][1]
Newsham was blamed for the botched handling of an 11-year-old girl who was raped twice and then charged by MPDC with lying after she confused which men raped her.[2][4] Newsham was tasked by Lanier for handling the rape investigation and involved in the charges against her.[4][2]
In 2002, Newsham ordered mass arrests of protesters at Pershing Park, when protesters were corralled and arrested without any notice to disperse.[5] The final settlement from the arrests brought the cost to $13.25 million.[5]
Newsham sought the chief of police job in Bradenton, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona and was turned down in both cases.[2]
Chief of Police
After serving on MPDC for nearly 28 years, in February 2017 Newsham was nominated as Chief of Police after serving in an acting role since Lanier departed in September 2016.[5] Protester disruptions caused the suspension of his first oversight hearing.[6] He was approved by the Council in a 12-1 vote. [7] Councilmember David Grosso opposed his nomination, and the ACLU recommended delaying the confirmation vote until an investigation was concluded.[8][7] Nesham identified his priorities as addressing trust in the community and officer morale.[5]
In 2018, a whistleblower raised concerns that MPDC leadership were manipulating crime statistics by deliberately misclassifying violent crimes.[9] MPDC leadership disputed the claim of phony crime stats but did not fully explain the error.[10]
Following a massive gunfight in Northeast Washington, Newsham criticized members of the D.C. Council who sought answers. After more than 40 bullets were fired in front of a barbershop that has been described as an open-air drug market, Newsham claimed that the drug dealers were emboldened by the suggestion that police had acted inappropriately.[11] Community activists called the assertion shocking.[11][12]
By October 2019, homicides had increased 11 percent from the same time in 2018, which rose 40 percent from the previous year. To fight the rise, Newsham authorized overtime pay for officer patrol.[3][13]
In March 2019, MPDC handcuffed a 10-year-old child who was near an armed robbery investigation.[14] Newsham did not condemn the tactic and said that it was important to make decisions on a case by case basis.[14]
In September 2019, data released by MPDC found significant disparities among stops by officers. African Americans accounted for 70% of all police stops while D.C. is 47% African American.[15] Newsham disputed whether the data, taken over a four week period, was representative. MPDC delayed collection of the data and released it after compelled by court order.[15]
Personal life
Newsham lives in Southeast Washington. He has two children from a previous marriage.[5]
Will it let me edit????!!!
References
- ^ a b c Anderson, Jeffrey (27 February 2017). "An Interview with Peter Newsham, D.C.'s Top Cop". Washington City Paper. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Marraco, Marina (1 December 2016). "Is Interim DC Police Chief Peter Newsham fit to be top cop?". Fox 5. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ a b Hermann, Peter (1 October 2019). "D.C. police chief, mayor authorize overtime to combat shootings, homicides". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ a b Walters, Joanna (12 March 2015). "An 11-year-old reported being raped twice, wound up with a conviction". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Hermann, Peter (23 February 2017). "D.C. police chief, mayor authorize overtime to combat shootings, homicides". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ Hermann, Peter (1 March 2018). "D.C. police hearing ends before all testimony could be heard due to protester disruptions". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Peter Newsham confirmed as chief of DC police". Associated Press. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "MONICA HOPKINS-MAXWELL TESTIFIES AT CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR MPD POLICE CHIEF". acludc.org. ACLU of DC. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Marraco, Marina (4 December 2018). "DC officer says department is massaging the numbers when it comes to violent crime". Fox 5. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ Marraco, Marina (4 December 2018). "DC councilmember promises investigation after FOX 5 report on skewed crime stats". Fox 5. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ a b Hermann, Peter (5 January 2019). "Chief Newsham is wrong. Police oversight is essential". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ Smith, Jonathan (18 January 2019). "Chief Newsham is wrong. Police oversight is essential". Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ "DC Mayor Bowser, Police Chief Newsham visit FOX 5 to discuss fight against violence in the District". Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ a b Lewis, Tisha (6 April 2019). "District officials address handcuffing 10-year-old boy in robbery investigation". Fox 5. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ a b Austermuhle, Martin (10 September 2019). "D.C. Police Release Long-Delayed Stop-And-Frisk Data, Showing Racial Disparities In Stops". WAMU. Washington DC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.