A veteran D.C. police officer will not be prosecuted after allegedly telling colleagues that he wanted to shoot First Lady Michelle Obama.
The unidentified officer is a 17-year member of the force who could be disciplined for violating the police department’s code of conduct, authorities said Thursday.
He was stripped of his police powers and assigned to a desk job in July after his superiors learned of the remark. He had been a motorcycle officer in a police unit whose job entails helping to escort dignitaries, including President Barack Obama and his family.
“Our investigation is complete, and there will be no criminal charges resulting from it,” said Edwin Donovan, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, which conducted a joint inquiry with D.C. police detectives.
Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the District, said that federal prosecutors reviewed the findings of the investigation and “made the decision not to go forward.”
The Washington Post cited an anonymous official familiar with the case who said Secret Service agents and police concluded that the officer “wasn’t being serious” when he allegedly made the remark.
“What’s always important is intent,” the official said. “And we did everything we could to figure that out — whether it was serious or just a very bad joke.”
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, in her regular weekly appearance on WTOP, said Thursday that the officer remains the focus of an internal investigation for possible conduct unbecoming an officer. Lanier has said that “there’s absolutely no place for jokes that could be perceived as a threat to the first lady” or anyone else.
Police officials said the officer’s alleged remark was made over breakfast in a downtown restaurant with several other officers from the department’s Special Operations Division. One of the officers reported the comment, officials said.
