Councilmember Brooke Pinto

It is heartbreaking that these two public servants have died from their injuries. I am praying for their families, friends, and fellow troops. This is a tragic day for the District and for our country.

These are public servants and they should not be harmed while doing their jobs. We must be more proactive as a country to get firearms off our streets.

I am actively working to get to the bottom of what happened.

Today’s shooting near the White House is devastating and unacceptable. As the Councilmember representing this area and the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, I am deeply disturbed and saddened that there was a shooting injuring two National Guard troops.

Thank you to Food & Friends for all your hard work throughout the year to help provide meals, groceries, and nutrition counseling to our residents in need.

Thanksgiving is a time for us to give thanks and enjoy a delicious meal with loved ones, but many of our neighbors are not able to prepare the meals themselves. I joined Food & Friends to deliver Thanksgiving meals to DC residents with serious medical conditions.

It was so great to honor this year’s recipients who serve as role models for other DC youth.

Shining a light on our incredible young people!

The Right Direction Awards through the Office of Attorney General honors young people in DC who have overcome serious challenges and are positively impacting their community.

Celebrating 155 years of the Jerusalem Baptist Church! Wonderful to be with this inclusive and giving congregation.

It was great for the Council to meet with the State Board of Education to discuss our shared priorities of supporting our students, teachers, and schools.

We must ensure we are providing an excellent education for our students and are empowering our educators in the classroom. This is why I funded expanded structured literacy training and passed legislation to remove personal cell phones from the classroom in DC schools.

Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, we honor our transgender friends and neighbors who have lost their lives senselessly from anti-transgender violence.

There is no place for hatred or violence here in DC or anywhere. We must ensure all neighbors are welcome and safe in our communities.

I am urging the Senate to stand with DC and protect our ability to govern ourselves. We know how to do that. These bills now head to the Senate, and I will continue working with our community and colleagues to fight efforts to undermine our autonomy and our safety.

We have already addressed gaps in our pretrial detention system locally to empower judges to hold individuals charged with violent offenses pretrial.

... and we have passed impactful legislation including my Secure DC Omnibus and Peace DC Omnibus bills that directly address public safety concerns impacting District residents.

... and will disallow the Chief of Police from making her own employment decisions if an officer breaks the law.  
Local DC officials are best positioned to govern DC – we know our community...

The other bill is the “Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025." This bill will undo laws passed by the Council and will get rid of measures to expand the use of body-worn cameras for MPD officers...

One bill is the “District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025” which would bring back cash bail. We have not had cash bail in DC for more than 30 years. A person’s ability to pay should not impact their detainment – it should be based on risk of danger to the community, not on financial status.

Tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills that trample on our right to Home Rule, undermine our local public safety system, and disregard our local efforts that have been effectively improving public safety in the District.

Prosper DC includes 23 new bills that deliver:  

✅ economic opportunities and affordability for residents  

✅ positive youth development initiatives  

✅ supports & attraction incentives for businesses & workers  
✅ affordable, healthy, and accessible housing

🚨Today, I am thrilled to announce my new Prosper DC plan that will catalyze economic opportunities for our residents and businesses because everyone in DC deserves to prosper!

I was thrilled to introduce a resolution in the Council recognizing Mr. Brown’s years of service as he embarks on a new chapter – retirement! And I surprised him with a celebration thanking him for all of his hard work! Thank you, Mr. Brown!

It’s hard & important work keeping our city clean and free from rat infestations.

For 25 years, Gerard Brown has been a dedicated public servant here in DC working tirelessly to keep everyone healthy and safe leading DC Health’s rodent abatement program.

Today, we honor our veterans who have served and sacrificed for us all. Thank you for your service to our nation.

We must do more to support our veterans here in DC with housing, healthcare, and opportunity.

My oversight of OUC is ongoing to continue to improve services as all in our city deserve. I want to share a look at the progress we have made and how you can use the OUC dashboard that was required under my Secure DC legislation to collect and provide transparency on performance data.

We have seen great improvements with our Office of Unified Communications (OUC) from significantly reduced call-to-answer wait times to increased staff and improved technology.

As Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, I am committed to ensuring our 911 call center provides fast, efficient, and accurate services for DC residents and visitors.

The best ideas always come from our neighbors! Thank you to everyone who came out for my community office hours at Aslin Coffee!

I will continue to hold events in the community to ensure we're meeting people where they are & that the solutions we are advancing for our city come from our residents.

... and the December 4th hearing I am holding on public safety in DC.

We must continue to move forward locally in ways that support the city’s safety.

I also look forward to the Youth Safety hearing I am holding with @cmzparker5.bsky.social on Nov. 13th, the Dec. 3rd hearing in the Facilities Committee on my bill to enhance access to schools and recreational centers on evenings and weekends and to increase positive programming for young people...

🚨 The Council just passed my emergency juvenile curfew legislation, which provides MPD with a critical preventative tool to keep our city and our kids safe.