Pamela A. Smith

Pamela A. Smith (born January 4, 1968) is a former American police chief.

Smith joined the United States Park Police in 1998 and advanced through the ranks to become chief of police there from 2021 to 2022. She was the first African-American female to serve in the role.

She joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia in 2022 as its chief equity officer and then served as its chief of police from July 2023 to December 2025.

Smith resigned from the Metropolitan Police Department in 2025 about a week prior to the release of a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report that alleged that Smith had intimidated subordinate officers into reporting inaccurately low crime statistics for political reasons.

Early life and education Smith was born on January 4, 1968, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Walter Lee Smith Sr. and Eddie Mae Bass Sanders. Her mother was 16 when she married her father. Smith's mother was addicted to alcohol and her father to drugs. She was reassigned to the New York field office where she joined the canine unit as a canine handler in the explosive ordinance and detection unit. Smith transitioned to a senior instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), law enforcement driver training program in Glynco, Georgia.

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia Smith joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD) in May 2022 as the chief equity officer, assigned to the executive office of the chief of police. She led the department's efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). She was sworn in later that month in an acting capacity, succeeding interim chief Ashan M. Benedict. The Council of the District of Columbia confirmed her as the new chief in a unanimous vote on November 7, 2023. She was the second female and first Black female to serve in the position.

On December 8, 2025, Smith announced that she would step down from her position on December 31, 2025. About a week after on December 14, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform published a report alleging that Smith had intimidated subordinate officers into reporting inaccurately low crime statistics. On December 19, 2025, Smith delivered a speech at her walkout ceremony, stating, “Let’s be really clear about one thing: Never would I, never will I, ever compromise my integrity for a few crime numbers...”. These remarks came amid ongoing public and political scrutiny over the Metropolitan Police Department's crime statistics and internal accountability practices.

Personal life Smith moved to the Washington metropolitan area in 2011. She is a season ticket holder of the Washington Mystics. As of 2023, she resides in ward 8 of Washington, D.C. She is an ordained Baptist minister.