COVER STORY
A Brother For Such a Time as This: Robert J. Contee III, Protecting Washington, D.C.
Robert J. Contee III (Fort Washington (MD) 2018).
By Dr. Samuel Odom
O n December 22, 2020, Wash- ington, D. C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced her selection of Robert J. Contee III, (Fort Washington (MD) 2018) to serve as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. He was sworn in on January 2, 2021. Acting Chief Contee joined the Metro- politan Police Department as a police cadet in November 1989. He became a sworn member of the Department three years later and quickly rose through the ranks, serving in a variety of assignments. He started as a patrol officer in the Third District, sergeant in the Second District, and the Metropolitan Police Academy.
As a lieutenant, he served as a Patrol Services Area leader in the Second Dis- trict, Regional Operations Command- East, and led the Intelligence Branch. In January 2004, Acting Chief Contee was promoted to captain responsible for leading the Violent Crimes Branch, including the Homicide Branch and the Sexual Assault Unit. Contee was promoted to Second District commander in August 2004 and was transferred to the Special Operations Division (SOD) in April 2006, where he was responsible for overseeing tactical patrol, special events
and traffic safety functions. Following his post at SOD, Acting Chief Contee became commander of the Sixth District in 2007, before taking command of the Recruiting Division in October 2014. He was named commander of the First District in January 2016 and was appointed Assistant Chief of MPD’s Professional Development Bureau in the summer 2016 where he oversaw the Human Resources Management Division, Disciplinary Review Divi- sion, the Metropolitan Police Academy, and Recruiting Division. In April 2017, Acting Chief Contee was named Patrol Chief of Patrol Services South (PSS),
12 | WINTER 2020-SPRING 2021 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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