The District’s interim police chief has taken direct oversight of an office that helps some minority and underserved residents, saying he wants to assure them of unbiased treatment even under a new president whose divisive rhetoric has frightened some groups.

“Just because things have changed at a federal level, nothing has changed for our city,” the chief, Peter Newsham, said at a news conference Wednesday. “We’re still going to be an inclusive city. We are committed to fair, unbiased policing.”

The remarks were made during what otherwise was a routine announcement about reshuffling responsibilities in the police command staff. Newsham said that he has long wanted to take more control of what is called the Special Liaison Division but that he sped the move up ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

[Democratic-leaning cities brace for fight with Trump over sanctuary policies]

“We as police officers are required to be apolitical,” Newsham said. “We do not show favor to one particular party in an election. But we do have eyes, and we do have ears, and we have seen and heard the folks, in this region in particular, express some concern about the results of the past election.”

The Special Liaison Division will now consolidate to an office in Dupont Circle. Its staff provides assistance to the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations, as well as to Asians, Latinos and the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The unit assists in investigating hate crimes and helps when members of those communities are victimized or have problems with law enforcement.

Newsham said that by having the unit report to his office, instead of to the patrol chief, he can more quickly respond and reassign department resources.

Aside from rhetoric from Trump that many have deemed racist and exclusionary, the president-elect has threatened to deny federal money to what are called “sanctuary cities,” of which the District is one. These are jurisdictions that refuse to allow its officials, including police, to enforce federal deportation policy. It can also apply to jurisdictions that prohibit agencies from denying services or benefits to those in the country illegally.