Even though the federal takeover of D.C.’s police department was announced Monday, it actually began Aug. 7, according to federal law enforcement sources.

Even though the federal takeover of D.C.’s police department was announced Monday, it actually began Aug. 7, according to federal law enforcement sources.

It is being built on a tightly scripted, highly centralized structure designed for rapid coordination across multiple agencies.

A senior law enforcement source said the operation began with a large briefing at an unnamed federal police headquarters building that brought together every federal police agency for advance notice of the presidential announcement Monday. That signaled that the White House sought to align federal law enforcement entities under a common plan before making the move public.

A daily, 7 p.m. briefing, at a designated location will serve as the backbone of the operation. These meetings, the senior law enforcement source said, will dictate assignments, deployment numbers and agency pairings with D.C. police or other partners.

This level of central scheduling ensures that operational details can be adjusted on a day-by-day basis, enabling rapid response to emerging developments. It’s also designed, according to the source, to prevent duplication of assignments. This also suggests the need for D.C. police and federal officials to work closely on the deployment process.

The National Guard component — about 800 soldiers total, with only 100 to 200 active in any given shift — will serve a hybrid role: logistics, administrative functions and physical presence in the field. This structure avoids saturating the streets with military vehicles but still places National Guard troops in visible, supportive roles.

The spread-out deployment suggests a balance between deterrence and flexibility, though it also means that military support will be concentrated in select zones rather than citywide.

On Aug. 12, the White House confirmed again that newly confirmed Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole will lead the operation, effectively placing the D.C. police chief under his command. The reconfirmation came after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reiterated on Monday that Police Chief Pamela Smith was still in charge of D.C.’s police department.

The operation appears to be built for speed, with centralized authority and a show of force calibrated to be visible but restrained. Yet its compressed timeline, tight federal control and limited National Guard deployment create potential stress points — particularly if mistakes lead to political fallout or civil rights disputes.

In the end, this is not only a test of how efficiently D.C. can be run under federal police control, but it could be a decisive measure of whether federalized urban policing can function without eroding public trust.

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