Katie Mettler

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering policing, courts and justice

Education: Indiana University, BA in journalism

Katie Mettler is a reporter covering criminal justice in Maryland for the Local desk. After joining The Post in 2016, she wrote about national breaking news, policing, politics and criminal justice for four years. She began her career as a breaking news and features reporter for the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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Latest from Katie Mettler

Alsobrooks formally resigns as Prince George’s county executive

The departure of Alsobrooks, who is headed to the U.S. Senate, triggers a pair of special election to fill her vacant seat and, potentially, two more special elections for a vacant council seat.

December 2, 2024
Angela Alsobrooks (D) is sworn in for her first term as Prince George’s county executive in December 2018, with her daughter, Alex, at her side.

Four Baltimore criminal organizations dismantled in massive crime bust

Nearly 40 people have been criminally charged so far while dozens of illegal guns, 15 stolen vehicles and a large cache of narcotics and money in what officials called “Operation Tornado Alley.”

November 26, 2024
Weapons on display at a news conference were seized during the Maryland law enforcement raids. The four criminal organizations dismantled in “Operation Tornado Alley” worked primarily in southwest Baltimore while trafficking narcotics, authorities say. (Katie Mettler/The Washington Post)

Maryland woman charged with sex-trafficking 11 pleads guilty

Kenika Danielle Leach was arrested after a two-year investigation into an alleged sex-trafficking ring.

November 22, 2024

Ex-Pr. George’s council member to be jailed for stealing campaign funds

Franklin, who served on the council for nearly 14 years, pleaded guilty in August to participating in a felony theft scheme and committing perjury.

November 13, 2024
Mel Franklin, then a member of the Prince George's County Council, during a meeting in 2016.

Alsobrooks’s Senate win fuels new contest over her Prince George’s seat

The county will either hold special elections or appoint a new county executive, depending on when she leaves her office.

November 8, 2024
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who was elected to the U.S. Senate, on Election Day in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Civil trial over ship hitting Baltimore bridge scheduled for 2026

The trial will determine whether the ship’s owner and operator can cap their financial liability in the disaster at $43.6 million.

November 7, 2024
Cranes work to remove sections of the Key Bridge from the Port of Baltimore in April.

DOJ reaches $100 million settlement with ship owner in Baltimore bridge collapse

The funds will go to the budgets of federal agencies affected by the collision. Others, including the state of Maryland, are pursuing separate damages.

October 25, 2024
Cranes are brought in to start clearing debris from where the Dali container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March.

After Post report, Md. health secretary says changes coming to mental hospital

Maryland’s health secretary told employees that the allegations are a “serious concern” and described what the department is doing to fix problems.

October 16, 2024
Exterior of Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center.

Prince George’s officer won’t be charged in fatal shooting

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office declined to prosecute Prince George’s County police officer Braxton Shelton in the fatal shooting of Melvin Jay.

October 16, 2024
The apartment complex where Prince George's County police shot 31-year-old Melvin Jay.

How a ‘climate of chaos’ went unchecked at Maryland’s max-security psych hospital

A Washington Post investigation found that officials didn’t act on staff complaints about facility violence, which culminated in a patient brawl, rape and death.

October 15, 2024