DC police may pair up with National Guard members after shooting near White House

Days after the shooting that killed a National Guard member, D.C. police are working with other law enforcement agencies to figure out how to support the National Guard deployment moving forward, a police department official told WTOP.

Troops are expected to begin patrolling with D.C. police, according The Washington Post, which obtained a message sent to department leaders Wednesday night. The outlet reported the plan isn’t final and could change.

The consideration comes after Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were wounded Wednesday during a shooting in Downtown D.C., blocks from the White House.

Beckstrom ultimately died from her injuries, and President Donald Trump told troops Thursday that Wolfe is “fighting for his life.”

“Law enforcement agencies across Washington, D.C., including the Metropolitan Police Department, are working in close coordination with the National Guard to ensure the safety of our community,” D.C. police spokesman Tom Lynch told WTOP.

Pairing troops with police officers would mark a change in approach since the National Guard members arrived in D.C. in August. Troops have been deployed near parks and Metro stations, but have largely remained separate from the city’s police officers.

Washington Post reporter Jenny Gathright joined WTOP on Friday night and said discussions between D.C. police, U.S. Park Police and Metro Transit Police are underway “on whether this should be a long term thing.”

“National Guard troops have never been assigned to be actually doing law enforcement in the city, only to be a presence, to basically support law enforcement, be a witness to crimes and then alert police or perhaps temporarily detain someone,” Gathright said.

WTOP has contacted the White House and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office for comment on the possibility of troops and police patrolling together.

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