Subject: Urgent Call to Override the Mayor’s Veto and Pass the FAAR Act into Law
March 30, 2026
Dear Honorable Councilmember,
Thank you for your March 3 vote to pass the Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting (FAAR) Emergency Amendment Act of 2026. DC residents need and deserve absolute transparency in the actions of federal agents operating in our communities. Therefore, as a DC citizen and resident, I urge you to override Mayor Bowser’s March 23 anti-democratic veto when the FAAR Act again comes up for a vote tomorrow, March 31.
Mayor Bowser’s veto of the FAAR Act is a betrayal of those she ostensibly represents, at a time of military occupation and the absence of constitutional protections, such as due process of law. Bowser’s action sends a clear message that not only is she complicit in enabling the Fascist Trump regime to advance their illegal and unconstitutional agenda, but she is doing so in the face of your democratically representative vote.
FAAR provides basic and straightforward steps to improve safety in DC — as you and your colleagues testified on March 3. As you know, it would require MPD officers to record in arrest reports and probable cause affidavits whether federal officers are present at the scene of an MPD arrest, the names of those federal officers, and whether any of those federal officers used force. It would require MPD officers to report any instances of federal agents’ use of force, and to provide body-worn camera footage whenever possible.
This legislation was written to prevent more incidents like the one where Department of Homeland Security officers shot at Phillip Brown. MPD officers were not only present, but they participated in that incident and later attempted to cover up the shooting by failing to document the case in official reports.
We have also seen MPD officers riding with federal agents, making arrests with federal agents, sharing information with federal agents, and patrolling neighborhoods with federal agents. Transparency and accountability regarding these interactions is the bare minimum we should expect. It is infuriating that our mayor seems to believe that we, DC citizens and residents, do not deserve basic protection from, and open reporting about, such activity.
I join with all concerned community members to urge you to override Mayor Bowser’s veto and pass FAAR again, at tomorrow’s legislative meeting.
Thank you in advance for representing all DC neighbors, citizens, and residents,
Chuck Pennacchio, Ph.D.
1425 Monroe Street, NW
Washington, DC 20010
cpennacchio@gmail.com
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