DC councilman calls for 'increased police presence' after touting 'biggest reduction to MPD we've ever seen'
The DC councilman touted the 'biggest reduction to MPD I've ever seen' in 2020'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A councilman in Washington D.C., is calling for an increase in police presence after a tragic shooting in the city's Metro transit system, despite touting a reduction to the city's police department in 2020.
Charles Allen, Ward 6 councilman in Washington, D.C. made the call for an increased police presence while standing outside the Potomac Avenue Metrobus station on Wednesday after a transit employee was shot and killed while attempting to stop a gunman who already shot three other people on Wednesday.
"I spent a couple of hours back at Potomac Ave Metro this morning with neighbors, MPD leaders, ANCs, & riders working collectively thru responses to yesterday’s violence, including increased police presence, gun violence prevention, Safe Passages, & more community engagement," Allen said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, in 2020, Allen touted the largest cut to the Metropolitan Police Department that "we've ever seen."
"I know not everyone agrees with where we landed. I hear you & now that we’ve gotten through committee & to the full Council, I’m happy to keep the work going. This is the biggest reduction to MPD I've ever seen – but I know racial justice won’t be achieved in a single budget," Allen wrote in a tweet on June 28, 2020.
SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AFTER DC METRO TRANSIT EMPLOYEE SHOT, KILLED; 3 OTHERS INJURED
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Charles Allen, ward 6 councilman in Washington, D.C. made the call for an increased police presence while standing outside of the Potomac Avenue Metrobus station on Wednesday after a transit employee was shot and killed while attempting to stop a gunman who already shot three other people on Wednesday. (Charles Allen/Facebook)
Allen was referring to a vote by the Washington, D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, in June 2020 to cut the Metropolitan Police Department's budget by over $15 million, according to FOX 5.
Protesters showed up at Allen's home in Capitol Hill at the time to demand more budget cuts to the police department.
The full city council voted to pass the budget cut in July 2020, according to WUSA.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DC COUNCIL SOFTENS PENALTIES FOR VIOLENT CRIMES BY OVERRIDING MAYOR'S VETO OF CRIMINAL CODE REWRITE
Committee chairman and council member, Charles Allen. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Funding stripped from the police department was diverted to social programs including a Washington, D.C. director for gun violence prevention, affordable housing, and a domestic violence shelter.
In January, Allen voted in favor of a bill vetoed by Mayor Muriel Bowser that would soften some penalties for violent crime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It is a long overdue overhaul of our criminal code, which was first handed down to us from Congress back in 1901, a Congress that, if you can believe it, is even more dysfunctional and unrepresentative the District Columbia than what we have today," Allen said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to reporters near the scene of a shooting on a metro bus at the corner of 14th and Sheridan St NW in the Brightwood neighborhood in Washington, DC on January 11, 2023. (Photo by Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The bill, which overhauls the city's criminal code, reduces maximum sentences, eliminates almost all mandatory minimum sentences, and also expands rights to jury trials for those accused of misdemeanors.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Congress has 60 days to review the bill.
Fox News Digital reached out to Allen for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News' Timothy Nerozzi and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.