D.C.’s mayor and interim police chief took questions on immigration enforcement after an ICE agent shot and killed an unarmed woman in Minneapolis.

“If we don’t want ICE in our communities, we have to stop funding ICE – and that decision isn’t made here; it’s made at the Congress,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

The mayor was asked about her reaction to the killing.

“To me, it just is reflected, when you have people who are unaccustomed to urban policing trying to police in an urban environment. What it looked to me like – very bad, and I’m not a police officer, I’m not in law enforcement – but what I saw was completely avoidable, and a woman died,” she said.

“ICE is patrolling American cities. If we don’t want that, the Congress has to stop funding ICE, because thousands of agents who are untrained to police in urban environments are on our streets,” Bowser added.

In two recent incidents in D.C., federal agents opened fire on drivers who the agents claimed were trying to hit them with their vehicles. In those cases, no one was injured.

Interim Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll was asked about public concerns that might happen here again.

“A lot of these individuals, they don’t work in urban policing. So, us working with federal authorities in the policing operations, being out there, actually helps us make sure that we can work in those areas to help control what’s going on,” he said.

“Obviously, I can’t assure you of anything. Obviously, I can assure you every situation is different, right, that officers encounter out there,” he added. “But I think having the relationship and having the federal authorities working with the officers does help to mitigate some of the challenges that we have with that.”

Nadeau’s report on DC cooperation with immigration enforcement

Departing D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau released a scathing report Thursday that’s critical of how MPD and the Bowser administration have cooperated with federal immigration enforcement.

“The primary finding is the loss of trust between the public and MPD,” she told News4. “The challenge that we’re finding is that the mayor and the chief’s interpretation of the Sanctuary Values Act has opened up a vulnerability whereby they are essentially cooperating with ICE in a manner that does not match with the intent of the law.”

Bowser declined to comment on the report.

Carroll said he has not decided whether to make any changes to MPD policies on cooperating with immigration enforcement.

Last month, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who oversees public safety, sent a letter to the then-chief requesting detailed answers to several questions related to MPD’s cooperation with federal law enforcement. Carroll said Thursday that he will provide a response, which is due to the council by Friday.

In this 4 More Context, News4’s Ted Oberg explains how many people in the D.C. area have been arrested by ICE and why.

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WASHINGTON – A dry and mild Thursday is ahead for the Washington, D.C., region, with highs in the mid‑50s before a rainy start to the weekend.

What we know:

The morning begins on the chilly side with some patchy fog. FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda says conditions stay dry as temperatures climb into the afternoon, with clouds building by evening.

Rain showers may develop late Friday afternoon into the evening, with highs in the upper 50s.

What’s next:

Steadier rain moves in Saturday morning. Temperatures rise into the 60s, but on‑and‑off rain is expected through the afternoon and evening.

Sunday turns much drier, though highs fall back into the 50s. By Monday, colder air returns with highs in the 40s.

• A Coshocton court reporter has accepted a new position with the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C.
• Lynn Els will transcribe proceedings on the House floor for the official Congressional Record.

COSHOCTON − Court reporter Lynn Els has always wanted to see the cherry blossoms in bloom in Washington, D.C., and she’ll get that chance this spring thanks to a new job.

Starting Jan. 12, Els will work as a court reporter for the U.S. House of Representatives on the floor in the Capital building in Washington D.C. She’ll write for 10 to 15 minutes before a new reporter comes on.

The 62-year-old will then go to the downstairs office and enter what she wrote into the official Congressional record before going back to the floor, or what they call the well. One might be able to spot Els during hearings aired on C-SPAN.

“It’s not verbatim like I’m used to taking in the courtroom. Because of parliamentary procedures, things are supposed to be worded a certain way in the Congressional record. So, you have to clean it up or insert special language,” Els said of what she’ll be doing. “Now I always have transcripts hanging over my head. I won’t have that backlog of transcripts, because you’re continuing throughout the day building the Congressional Record.”

Distinguished duties

Els has been a court reporter since 1984 and and started with Coshocton County Common Pleas Court in 1986. She can type up to 300 words a minute. She was one of the first people in the nation to obtain a Certified Realtime Reporter designation in 1995.

“I’m excited for what’s new, but sad because I’ve done this for so long and it’s comfortable,” Els said of leaving her current court post. “The thing about this job is that I always have work to do.”

Along with serving as a court reporter for Coshocton County, Els has also done closed captioning for a variety of events. Everything from Cincinnati Bengals football games to the funeral services of Billy Graham and Whitney Houston to “Fox and Friends” to the royal weddings of Prince Harry and Prince William; all working remotely.

This has also included congressional hearings and recognition ceremonies at the Capital starting in 2013, which was the connection to Els’ new job. She worked as an independent contractor through Alderson Court Reporting.

Landing the job

With a laugh, she said living in a small, rural community was actually beneficial. Since she worked remotely and transmitted captions via landlines, the older equipment in Washington D.C. could keep up better with Els’ transmission, over digital lines from larger cities.

“They always kind of liked it when it was me. They knew they wouldn’t have any disconnection problems. So, I became their preferred writer,” Els said.

She was encouraged to submit her resume for the new position last summer. Els never dreamed she would get it, she just always wanted to travel to Washington D.C. to see what it looked like on-site.

Els went to D.C. for an interview and sat in on a committee hearing. She took notes and then typed them up back at the office. This was followed by a writing test and current events test. Els said captioning for the morning news program “Fox and Friends” helped her with that part.

“Just being there was exciting. I did it. I survived that day and it wasn’t bad,” Els said.

Els was slated to start in October, but that was pushed out due to the government shutdown. She will be living in a condo owned by a court reporter friend who works for the International Monetary Fund. Els said she’s received a lot of questions on her living situation, but she’ll be back in Coshocton when not working.

She’ll also continue to do some captioning work on weekends and her off hours, such as captioning for screens in the stadium for Bengals’ home games.

“I do want to keep my skills built up. It’s like playing a sport with captioning, because it’s fast,” Els said. “If you don’t do it, you lose that skill.”

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 18 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X at @llhayhurst.