A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) commander has been placed on paid leave and is under investigation for allegedly altering crime statistics in his district, according to NBC 4 Washington and Police1, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

Commander Michael Pulliam, who leads MPD’s 3rd District, was placed on leave in mid-May following accusations that he made “questionable changes to reported crime data.”

Multiple law enforcement sources told News4 that Pulliam filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against Executive Assistant Chief Andre Wright prior to being placed on leave.

Pulliam denies the allegations.

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The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has raised wider concerns about the potential manipulation of crime statistics to show decreases in violent crime.

According to FOP Chairman Gregg Pemberton, officers have been instructed to downgrade serious felony offenses to lesser charges in order to make crime numbers appear lower.

“This is being directed by the MPD command staff in order to keep crime stats low,” Pemberton said, calling the official numbers “misleading.” He added, “There’s absolutely no way crime could be down 28%. Last year, they suggested that it went down 34%.”

According to MPD data, violent crime in D.C. was initially reported as being down 28% compared to the same period last year. By Thursday, that figure had been adjusted to 25%, with overall crime listed as down 8%.

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President Donald Trump has called for the federalization of law enforcement efforts in D.C. to combat the city’s rising crime concerns, describing crime in the nation’s capital as an “epidemic.”

The controversy surrounding Commander Pulliam comes after a separate investigation earlier this year involving his wife, Captain Rachel Pulliam, who was reassigned to a midnight shift in April.

MPD Chief Pamela Smith issued a statement addressing the current allegations. “Any irregularity in crime data brought to my attention will be addressed immediately,” Smith said.

“I do not condone any official reclassifying criminal offenses outside the guidelines set in MPD policy.”

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The investigation remains ongoing, and no disciplinary action has yet been announced.

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