DC Police Chief Contee to 'retire' from department, takes FBI job

WASHINGTON — D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III is leaving the Metropolitan Police Department to join the FBI, multiple sources confirmed to WUSA9 Wednesday. 

Contee is well-liked in the department, and the news came as a surprise to many.

Contee joined the department in 1989 as a cadet and was a sworn member of the force three years later. In December 2020, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser nominated Contee for the role as chief. He took over just days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

At the time, Contee shared how his background shaped his leadership and determination to serve the community he has spent decades working for. As the child of two parents who battled cerebral palsy in a drug and violence-stricken D.C. neighborhood, he said his experiences growing up in the District have embedded perseverance, humbleness, and hard work in everything that he does. 

Contee took over the police department just days before the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mayor Bowser's office released the following statement after WUSA9 reported Contee's departure:

“Chief Contee was sworn in four days before January 6, 2021. Since his first week on the job, and over the past 33 years, he has been making Washington, DC incredibly proud. He’s a son of DC who grew up in Carver Langston, joined the Metropolitan Police Department as a cadet at 17 years old, and now he’s ready for his next chapter. On behalf of our city, I want to congratulate Chief Contee on his retirement and thank him for his service to DC — for leading MPD with passion and purpose. He has pushed our criminal justice system to do more and be better. He has led MPD through an incredibly challenging time for our country – from the pandemic to January 6th and navigating the effects of a shrinking department during a time when gun violence is exploding across the nation. He has been a phenomenal ambassador of what it means to be a police officer in DC – brilliant, compassionate, and determined to build a DC where all people feel safe and are safe.

“We know that the Chief has a motto: Excellence is transferable. And we know he will leave behind a team of leaders and officers ready to continue serving DC at the highest levels.”

Sources say Contee is leaving the department after taking an assistant director role with the FBI. 

There is no word yet on who will lead the department in the interim nor a timeline for Contee's departure.

This is a developing story. Stick with WUSA9 for updates as they become available.

Robert Contee joined MPD in 1989, when he was still a senior in high school. He's been with the department ever since. Now, as D.C.'s acting police chief, he's ready to be a different kind of leader to start tackling the District's increasing crime rates. (Published in 2021)