On Friday, at a press briefing, Robert Contee, Washington D.C. Police Chief said that marijuana was “undoubtedly” one of the reasons behind the rise of violent crimes in the city. His comments follow recent shootings in DC near Logan Square and outside Washington Nationals Stadium.
Contee said that there was a mindset that marijuana was not a big issue in D.C., but he said that it was definitely connected to violent crimes that have been occurring in the city. People got a high reward and earned a lot of money dealing in illegal marijuana, while the risk of accountability was low. He said that it created a bad situation as those individuals get robbed, shot at, and get involved in disputed across the city.
He added that he had personally seen an increase in violent crimes that were related to cannabis and that these crimes were happening in different wards. He said that a murder took place in Ward 3 on Western Avenue. It was related to an illegal marijuana popup.
He also mentioned an incident on North Capital Street, which was the location of another illegal marijuana scene. A person entered with a gun, duct taped another person and put a gun to a person’s head. He said that unlawful marijuana popups and the unlawful distribution of marijuana were a “bad recipe for disaster.”
He also said that local prosecutors were not doing enough as they didn’t hold those who had an illegal amount of marijuana, which is two ounces for an adult over 21, accountable. He said that people didn’t face risk as they were not held accountable. He also said that there was a rumor in the community some people were keeping scales and measuring out cannabis so that they could not be locked up by the police.
Robert J. Contee IIII grew up in Northeast DC. He joined the Metropolitan Department of Police as a cadet in 1989. He rose to his position after years of service in different departments and acquired distinguished qualifications.
