Henrico Police chief clarifies changes to calls for service: 'We're going to respond to crime. . . we're not here to scare your kids'

Henrico Police Chief Eric English sought to clarify the role Henrico Police play in the community one day after hearing from county residents about changes to the way police planned to respond to certain calls that included marijuana and shoplifting.

"We are going to be responding to any unlawful action in Henrico County. So if people feel like they can come in Henrico County and do what they want to do, that is not the case," he said. "It's never going to be the case."

The chief met with the media on Tuesday to dispel any "misinformation" that may exist in the community following a video Henrico Police posted on social media. That video explained Henrico Police would no longer send patrol officers to certain calls for service. He apologized Tuesday for the rollout of the department's changes to how they respond to certain calls for service.

According to the video, police would no longer send officers to respond to calls that may be more minor, including noise complaints that do not violate county code, shoplifting cases where charges are not being filed, or medical calls where first responders who have already arrived at the scene do not need assistance from police.

"We acknowledge that the messaging could have been done a lot better," he said. "That was the issue. We feel like there was not a lot of clarity in terms of what was put out."

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