14th Street in Washington, D.C. is known for its popular bars and restaurants, but on Wednesday

night, a traffic checkpoint was drawing crowds, crowds of protesters.

This was a mix of D.C. police and federal law enforcement.

They were stopping cars, some agents were covering their faces.

Take your mask off, cowards!

A commander with the DC police said the operation was routine, but longtime residents told

CNN's Brian Todd they had never seen anything like it.

One of the commanders told me this is no different than something they do every couple of weeks.

Hell no, I've lived here for 17 years off of this street and this has never happened.

Ever since President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and took control of the city's police force, the impacts have been felt all over the city, from train stations to homeless encampments to the Washington Monument, all in the name of fighting violent crime.

But will the crackdown actually make the city safer?

And was there even a crime emergency to begin with?

My guest is Trevor Gardner.

He's the Vice Dean of Research and Faculty Development and a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

He's going to explain what the crime stats really show and what Trump might be up to

as he exerts his will all over the nation's capital. From CNN, this is one thing. I'm David Rind.

We're back in a bit.

Professor Gardner, can you just explain why President Trump has the power to take over a local police department?

So the president does have that power in Washington, D.C.

And he has a power based on the Home Rule Act. And that's an act enacted by Congress and the Act, among other things, gives the President permission to take control of the

D.C. Police Department for federal purposes for a 30-day period.

And so the important thing to know about the Home Rule Act is that it's an act specific to D.C., different from other cities and states.

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