IN AN ATTEMPT to pacify the constant call for an oversight hearing with the MPD, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto redirected concerned residents to her public safety hearing on Thursday, December 4, where “public safety” was added as a catch-all item into an agenda full of bills such as the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2025. But DC residents refused to be placated; over 130 people signed up to testify and the hearing lasted for well over 11 hours, much to Pinto’s visible displeasure.
Almost an hour later than the scheduled time, Pinto began the hearing with a laughable opening statement, rambling about all of the things she is powerless to do — never once mentioning the demands that have been repeatedly made clear to her by locals organizing through the Families Not Feds campaign — and reminding the room that “our neighbors are counting on us.” Georgia, the first person to testify, reminded the room exactly what was at stake by sharing the names of Demetrius Alston, Kevin Booker, and David Warren Childs, three of the men killed by police in less than one week. Georgia challenged the room to think about the men throughout this city who are pillars of their community, asking Pinto “What future neighbors, future families, future business owners, what future of DC are we also surveilling, handcuffing in the street, shoving into cars and roach-infested cells, and giving up on?” After Georgia’s testimony, Pinto refused to look at them, an answer in itself.
Building on Georgia’s testimony later in the day, James, a steward of Metro DC DSA's Abolition Working Group and one of the consistent members at DC Monday Jail Support, described the “incredibly petty” reasons they’ve seen people arrested for, like public drinking. James argued that “the spike in arrests is just cruelty and a desperate attempt to make it look like the federal forces are actually doing something of value.” In reality, the increased arrests are only exacerbating the inhumane conditions of central cell block: swarms of roaches, medical neglect (James cited a recent incident where a man vomited up his stomach lining and was ignored), and people being released only to immediately be re-arrested for fare evasion and sent right back to the block.
Pinto’s visible disinterest continued throughout the day. As residents testified over and over again about the violence they have witnessed or survived and the families that have been torn apart, Pinto joked with her staff, snacked on a cookie, fixed her lipstick, and at one point, even left the room in the middle of someone’s testimony. But Pinto’s disengagement didn’t stop the energy in the room. Frankie, program director at Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, didn’t pull any punches in their testimony: “How are the constituents of DC to trust you, and to trust that you won’t bend to the will of the Republicans when you yourself have brushed shoulders at Mar-a-Lago with the very same administration that has wrecked havoc on our communities? I need you to be clear of your complicity. Secure DC, Peace DC, youth curfew extensions, noise ordinances have all paved the road to fascism.” And when Frankie began to list what is actually within Pinto’s power — such as requiring the MPD to list every officer and their agency in reports? Their mic was cut off and Pinto simply stared at her as if she was watching the hotel information channel.
Even in the hearing’s second half, Pinto couldn’t seem to muster the energy to even fake an air of solemnity in the face of DC’s neighborhoods being terrorized. Gleefully introducing MPD Executive Assistant Chief for Patrol Operations Andre Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, Pinto declined to use her time to ask any real questions of the government witnesses, instead choosing to reiterate — again — what she is not able to do and asking softball questions, like for Appiah to restate a law from her original testimony.
The difference between Pinto’s questioning and her colleagues (who have already taken her to task after she attempted to publicly shame them for refusing to further criminalize DC’s youth) was stark. Councilmembers Mendelson, Nadeau, and White attempted to push Wright and Appiah to explain incidents of MPD collaboration with ICE, shootings by federal officers, federal officers taping their license plates to avoid being identified, but were repeatedly stonewalled. Wright offered very few words beyond “I have to look into that” while Appiah talked in circles, pretended she didn’t understand the clear questions being asked of her, and spun PR webs so intricate that Athena herself was one lie away from cursing her. Later that night, at ANC 1B’s monthly meeting, CM Nadeau was visibly frustrated from her attempted questioning of Appiah, telling the commissioners that she didn’t know how to work with officials so committed to ignoring the truth. CM Robert White posted recaps of the hearing on his Instagram where he questioned who if anyone is protecting DC residents.
And still the hearing marched on — in the ninth hour of the hearing, Pinto was joined by a large group of youth witnesses, whom she had kept waiting for hours in the Wilson building, something an educator immediately called her out on. Continuing in the vein of earlier public witnesses, each testimony served as another brick in the wall of Pinto’s legacy. Teen after teen told her to her face that her policies have directly put them in harm’s way. Youth pushback summoned some response by Pinto; though instead of addressing their concerns directly, she instead retreated into a campaign stump speech. She championed her own bills and asked teens to work with her on unrelated initiatives. In a hearing that lasted an entire day, Pinto’s only moment of authenticity was chatting with middle schoolers about their cell phones.
But the same DC residents that packed the Wilson building for a marathon hearing weren’t going to give up. Two days after the hearing, a group of almost forty advocates from across different organizations such as MDC DSA, Movimiento Migrante, DCAARPR, and FRSO, united under the Families Not Feds campaign to march from Logan Circle to Pinto’s home. Parked in front of Pinto’s residence for over an hour, multiple cars honked in support as the group waved signs demanding an MPD oversight hearing and for Pinto to do her job, chanted about her complicity to Trump, and delivered fiery speeches. Clinton, an organizer from Metro DC DSA and Movimiento Migrante, called Pinto out as she hid inside her three-story rowhome: “We’re here to do what leaders like Brooke Pinto are too cowardly to do: demand an end to the collaboration between police and Trump’s racist feds. The police have learned that if Brooke Pinto is in charge of oversight, that means there is no oversight.” Though Pinto never showed herself, MPD did, adding weight to Clinton’s words. By the time the action ended, multiple MPD SUVs were surrounding the block, eyeing the protestors with open hostility.
Pinto refuses to face the people she’s endangering in the name of public safety, but they’re not backing down so easily. Though Pinto would love nothing more than to be left alone to do what is presumably her favorite activity — joyfully reading through the files for every Black and brown person her policies have detained while doodling hearts on grainy photos of ICE agents with a pen as pink as her nauseating pantsuits — DC residents won’t let up until their neighborhoods are actually safe and Pinto remembers that she’s an elected official and not a Republican puppet.
All of this comes on the heels of the news that Chief of Police Pamela Smith is stepping down at the end of the month after two years in office. With a legacy of bowing to the federal takeover, cooperating with ICE, and covering up federal agents shooting a Black man, the gestapo’s most loyal collaborator will not be missed in the streets. Though news of her replacement has yet to be announced, Pinto is clearly already sweating from the pressure, saying that the next police chief needs to honor the Sanctuary Values Act. With Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George set to introduce a bill on Monday, December 15th to the Council that would ban MPD from transporting federal agents, designate areas such as schools and hospitals as safe zones where MPD is prohibited from coordinating with federal agents, and expand the Sanctuary Values Act to cover all agencies, it’s time to see if Pinto will finally develop the semblance of a spine or continue to offer up the residents of DC to masked goons on a platter.
Anyone interested in holding Pinto accountable can be plugged into actions through the Abolition and Community Defense Working Groups of Metro DC DSA.
