DC police department’s 2nd-in-command has police powers revoked

The Metropolitan Police Department’s executive assistant chief for patrol operations, Andre Wright, had his police powers revoked, News4 has learned.

Wright was asked for his gun and badge on Thursday afternoon, multiple law enforcement sources tell News4.

Wright is on administrative leave, a department spokesman said. His wife, Inspector Natasha Wright, also was placed on administrative leave. She’s a high-ranking official in MPD’s human resources department.

“MPD cannot comment on active internal investigations and personnel matters,” a statement said.

As part of MPD’s internal investigation into crime statistics, Wright’s cellphone was seized. Multiple sources tell News4 he was placed on leave at least in part due to what was found on his phone.

Wright was one of the police officials named in a Justice Department draft memo issued in December about DOJ’s investigation into whether MPD manipulated crime data to make rates appear lower.

DOJ and Congress both launched investigations into MPD’s crime data after a News4 report last year about an MPD commander who claimed he was investigated for changing crime data after he filed a complaint against Wright.

Wright is the second-highest ranking official in D.C.’s police department and the highest ranking Black official after the resignation of former chief Pamela Smith. Smith’s resignation came days before the DOJ and congressional reports about crime stats were made public. She denied her resignation had anything to do with those investigations.

Wright began his MPD career in 1994 and rose through the ranks, according to his bio. He spoke with News4 in 2024 about his hopes for a drop in violence and homicides.

Did D.C. police reclassify violent crimes to look safer? Paul Wagner joins Ted Oberg on 4 More Context as the union reviews reports and DOJ looks in.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.