Mayor Bowser names interim DC police chief to replace Contee
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has named Ashan M. Benedict as interim D.C. police chief Friday, replacing the departing Robert Contee.
Benedict has been with the police department as assistant chief of police to Contee since April 2021. Bowser said in a news release that his role was to manage the day-to-day operations of the department.
Previously, Benedict worked at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in a number of major posts such as the special agent in charge at the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
At ATF, he investigated “drug trafficking organizations, armed robberies of commercial businesses, armed carjackings, gang-related racketeering murders and firearms trafficking offenses,” Bowser said in the release.
Benedict was part of the ATF’s response to a number of events such as the Sept. 11 attacks at the Pentagon in 2001, the Beltway Sniper investigation and the Navy Yard active shooter, the release said.
Additionally, he was the on-scene incident commander in response to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Benedict has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Fordham University and a Master of Arts degree from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School in D.C., the release said.
Contee had been leading D.C. police since late 2020 and announced his retirement from the force in April to join the FBI. His last day with D.C. police is June 3.