District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser weighed in on a pair of unanimously passed D.C. Council bills addressing federal law enforcement operations in the district, signing one bill and vetoing the other.
Bowser signed off on a bill that would mandate the release of body camera footage from “serious use of force” incidents involving both Metropolitan Police Department officers and federal law enforcement. However, she also vetoed a bill that would require the MPD to make a note if federal law enforcement is present at the scene of any arrest.
Bowser’s move strikes down the “Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting Emergency Amendment Act of 2026,” an emergency bill that would have been in effect for 90 days after passage. The bill, introduced by at-Large Councilman Robert White, was unanimously passed by the D.C. Council in early March.
White is calling on the council to override Bowser’s veto and move forward with the emergency legislation.
“I’m deeply disappointed. On March 31, I need you to show up at our next legislative meeting,” White wrote on X. “We must override this veto and stand on the side of transparency, accountability, and the people of DC. Resident safety and accountability are not optional.”
While vetoing White’s bill, Bowser also approved a bill introduced by Councilwoman Brooke Pinto that would require the release of MPD body camera footage of all officer-involved deaths or serious use of force incidents. This approval was a pivot from Bowser, who previously opposed the bill. It was also unanimously passed by the D.C. Council.
Bowser wrote to the council ahead of their votes on both White and Pinto’s bills, urging them to vote them down. Bowser wrote in the early March letter that she urged the council instead “to seek congressional action on these matters.
“This is a federal issue that should be handled by the Congress,” Bowser wrote. “Congress has oversight over federal law enforcement agencies and can require a mask prohibition (which they are debating now) as well as body-worn cameras and name identification.”
But Bowser explained her decision to vote yes on Pinto’s proposed body camera law in a new letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Bowser’s office shared the March 23 letter with the Washington Examiner.
“While we still believe that changes related to federal law enforcement are most appropriately handled by Congress, this emergency legislation closely aligns with current District laws and policies related to the serious use of force and automatic release of body worn camera footage,” Bowser wrote on March 23.
Nevertheless, White called out Bowser’s switch-up on the legislation on X, writing, “Why approve one and not the other, when both passed unanimously?”
Bowser’s office did not provide any further comment to the Washington Examiner besides Bowser’s March 23 letter to Mendelson.
Pinto publicly thanked Bowser for signing her “Body-Worn Camera Transparency for Use of Force Emergency Amendment Act of 2026” into law.
“I introduced this important bill because DC residents deserve to know what’s going on in our own communities,” Pinto wrote on X, without addressing Bowser’s veto of White’s companion bill.
MAJOR RACES IN DC COULD CHANGE THE CITY’S STATUS QUO
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Pinto’s office for comment on whether or not she will support an override of Bowser’s veto of White’s “Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting” bill.
Pinto and White are challenging each other as two of the lead candidates facing off in the race to replace the district’s retiring delegate to Congress, 18-term Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).