CONTENTS STATEMENT [urphy, Patrick V., Director of Public Safety, District of Columbia_--- MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD istrict of Columbia Government: Corporation Counsel, memorandum reciting authority pursuant to Position Description - Public Affairs Office, news release dated Dec. 1, 1967 re appointment of Washington, Hon. Walter E., Commissioner, statement dated Feb. 8, 'ashington Evening Star Newspaper: Article dated February 7, 1968 entitled "Murphy Curbs Powers of Editorial dated February 8, 1968, entitled "Police Trouble Ahead?” (III) METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1968 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington, D.C. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 310, Longworth House Office Building, Honorable John L. McMillan Chairman of the Committee), presiding. Present: Representatives McMillan (presiding), Dawson, Whitener; isk, Diggs, Fuqua, Adams, Jacobs, Walker, Nelsen, Mathias, Horton, Broyhill of Virginia, Winn, Gude, Zwach and Steiger. Also present: James T. Clark, Clerk; Hayden S. Garber, Counsel; ara Watson, Assistant Counsel; Donald Tubridy, Minority Clerk; Leonard D. Hilder, Investigator. The CHAIRMAN. The Committee will come to order. The CHAIRMAN. The Committee wants to thank you for appearing before our Committee and join with us this morning in an effort to try o settle a few rumors and news reports. I would like to state that ince I called this meeting I believe that the majority of the questions hat we wanted to ask may have been answered by you and Chief ayton. When this Committee met last time, on the police pay raise Dill, there was a great deal in the papers concerning you and Chief ayton; and no one seemed to know whether Chief Layton would emain as Chief of Police, or know the connection between you and the Chief, and whether you were going to work together. We are here today o get some information on that subject. We desire to enlighten not only the members of the Committee but the public as to the connection between you and the Chief of Police. I have, I guess, a hundred letters in my file concerning this subject, and I imagine the other members have also received a number of letters wanting a clarification of your duties. I am certain you did not object to coming and explaining your position and Chief Layton's position under your reorganization plan. Certainly, we want to get together and be working smoothly by April. In fact, we expect some demonstrations here at that time, but I hope you and Chief Layton can ward off any demonstrations, stop any sit-down strikes in the parks. I have already received numerous letters from tourists saying they are not going to come to Washington if we have demonstrators sitting on the grass during the Cherry Blossom Festival. At this time, Mr. Murphy, I would appreciate it if you would elabprate on what your position entails and if Chief Layton will continue to be Chief of Police and if he will continue to issue the orders for the policemen on the force. I realize and I think that I know your position as Safety Director is a policy-making position. Mr. MURPHY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You can take it from this point. STATEMENT OF PATRICK V. MURPHY, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC SAFETY, WASHINGTON, D.C. Mr. MURPHY. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I am grateful for your kind invitation to come and state my position, what my understanding is of my authority and responsibility. As you just described it, Mr. Chairman, I am with Commissioner Washington and working for him in carrying out his responsibility for the operation of the Police Department, Fire Department and Office of Civil Defense. I not only look forward to working closely with Chief Layton as part of the Mayor's team in fighting crime and preventing disorder in the city, but I would like to assure you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, that I thoroughly considered before accepting the appointment, my very high regard for Chief Layton, whom I have known for many years, have met him at meetings of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and during the past two years I have worked with him while I was with the Law Enforcement Assistance Branch of the Department of Justice. And it is only because I have had this very high regard for Chief Layton and have known him to be a dedicated, able, well-experienced police officer that I accepted the appointment as Director of Public Safety for the city. Now, as you describe it, Mr. Chairman, my function is basically the policy-making function. I have a very small staff, an assistant and secretarial help, and it is the wish of Commissioner Washington that a small staff be maintained in this office as part of the Office of the Commissioner of the District of Columbia. The Police Department as we know, is a very large organization of 28 or 29 hundred people, all of whom have had some experience in their positions and the command people a considerable amount of experience. Chief Layton does a splendid job in operating the Department, and I think we have a complete understanding between the two of us that he is certainly to continue as the Chief of Police and direct and control the operations of the Department every day. And my role, as I have seen it, is to bring what little contribution I can make. Of course, I do have a police background. I have had police experience in other jurisdictions. I think I may be able to make some contribution. It is a fact of life that the police system in the United States is such that unfortunately there has not been very much communication and exchange among the police departments, and so when one visits different police departments around the country, he finds many variations in policies and procedures. I would hope that one of the small contributions I can make would be to bring the benefit of my experience to bear on some of the policies and practices of the Department and review them with Chief Layton and his staff and hopefully make improvement where improvement is to be made. I would like to state, also, that I have a very high regard for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. I think it is a very honest police department. I have found the men to be extremely dedicated in visiting precincts and riding throughout the city, visiting officers on their beats and in the units, listening to the police radio. I have been tremendously impressed with the response of officers to calls, with the willingness of officers, in fact, to volunteer to come in and back up officers going in on a robbery call or some other call where there may be violence. This, to me, is one of the most important kinds of evidence of the morale of a police organization, and I have been impressed that there is high morale in the Department, and I have great confidence that we can do much to prevent disorder of any kind and that we will be prepared to handle any minor or other disorder which may occur. I am also confident that we can do more in preventing crime and in controlling the very difficult crime problem that concerns all of us. And Chief Layton and I and other members of his staff have had several discussions about what we might do. The Department, I should state, has been doing a great deal in the past two years. Chief Layton has led a re-organization of this Department, a major re-organization, which, to my knowledge, is one of the most far-reaching re-organizations of any large city police department that has occurred in this nation in many years. And I think Chief Layton deserves much credit for that. I fear that the community perhaps does not appreciate the great significance of this re-organization, which I think has streamlined the Department, reduced the span of control of the Chief and some of his ranking officers, and the Department is going into a computerization program. The records system is being improved. And there is much more to be done in carrying out the rest of this re-organization. I am happy to have a part of that effort, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. I believe this question as to your authority came to a head about two weeks ago when four policemen, after their duty hours, began shooting out the window of their car. Mr. MURPHY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. I think that some people were of the opinion. that Mr. Layton should have handled that and it was not necessary to report that to you immediately. Now, would you discuss whether that type of Mr. MURPHY. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I would like to discuss that. As I stated earlier, it has been my experience that policies and practices in police departments vary a great deal. I attempted to make clear when I became Director of Public Safety that I would like to be advised at any time, any hour of the day or night, about any major incident, and I was not advised about this incident. Frankly, that concerned me. I would want Chief Layton-and, as a matter of fact, Chief Layton and his staff have handled that matter completely. I was somewhat concerned that I didn't know about it soon enough. I did believe and I do believe that it is important for me to be aware of any incident which involves a disciplinary matter relating to a police officer. And I think that the Mayor, Commissioner Washington, and his assistant, Mr. Fletcher, should be made aware of such developments very promptly. For instance, this morning, Mr. Chairman, at 5:45 my phone rang about an unfortunate incident at the Russian Embassy in this city this morning. And I do want to know about those things immediately because of the implications they could have, and certainly not inject myself to the extent of excluding Chief Layton, because I have great |