Pamela A. Smith

Pamela A. Smith has served as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of Washington, DC, since July 17, 2023, when she was nominated to the position by Mayor Muriel M. Bowser. The DC Council confirmed Smith’s appointment on November 7, 2023. At the time of her nomination, Smith had been MPD’s Assistant Chief of Police in charge of the Homeland Security Bureau.

MPD is the second major law enforcement agency Smith has led. She previously served as Chief of the United States Park Police (USSP), the first African-American woman to serve as Chief in the agency’s history.

Smith joined the Park Police 1998 as a patrol officer in the San Francisco Field Office. Over the course of her USSP career, she also saw duty in the Atlanta, DC and New York field offices as she rose through the ranks in a range of roles, including field training officer; canine handler; academy instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; executive lieutenant to the chief of police; assistant commander of the San Francisco Field Office; commander of the New York Field Office; acting deputy chief of the Homeland Security Division; and deputy chief for the Field Operations Division. She was the first woman to lead the New York Field Office as its Major. Smith became USSP chief in February 2021.

Smith joined MPD the following year as chief equity officer. In addition to leading the Department’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, she supervised the Employee Well-Being and Support units and the Equal Employment Opportunity Office; developed a department-wide accountability channel; and advised senior leaders on strategy.

In April 2023, Smith was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police of the Homeland Security Bureau. In that role, she led the operational and administrative functions of the Special Operations Division, the Joint Strategic & Tactical Analysis Command Center, and the Office of Intelligence before being nominated to succeed then-Acting Chief Ashan M. Benedict.

As MPD Chief, Smith has emphasized the importance of building police/community collaborations; strengthening officer recruitment and retention; leveraging technology to enhance public safety; and interdicting the flow of illegal weapons trafficked into the nation’s capital.

A native of Pine Bluff, AR, Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a graduate certificate in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia. She is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy (Session 265).

An ordained minister as well as a police professional, Chief Smith is committed to mentoring and advocating for children, youth and young adults, a passion fueled by having spent her early years in foster care in Pine Bluff.