Press Releases

Congressman Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee, released the following statement on today’s WMATA Inspector General report that found between 2010 and 2017, the MTPD failed to investigate 3,110 victim and general complaints.

“These are shocking findings by the WMATA IG that undermine faith in the Metro Transit Police Department to respond to credible rider complaints about criminal and unsafe behavior. The safety of riders is paramount, and the MTPD is either seized by that mission or they are not. Despite the attempted whitewashing of the WMATA IG’s findings, I would note that the MTPD does acknowledge that it has yet to complete its long-running internal audit of these undocumented and open cases. I welcome the commitment by the MTPD to finally complete its report on the matter and urge them to act with the utmost urgency to follow through on potentially unaddressed complaints.

“Despite my initial concerns that this report was being improperly withheld, I am glad this report is now seeing the light of day and that the WMATA IG and the WMATA Board have enabled its release. Our bill, the Metro Accountability and Investment Act, would condition annual federal contributions to WMATA on the WMATA Board ensuring public disclosure of all IG recommendations like the important ones in this report. I am fully committed the highest level of transparency, especially where it concerns rider safety.”