Initial input about proposed Henrico civilian review board is supportive

Henrico residents who support the creation of a civilian review board for the county’s division of police outnumbered those who opposed the idea by nearly a 2-to-1 margin among respondents who e-mailed their thoughts to a newly established county-email account last week.

Slightly more than half of those who e-mailed the county expressed support for such a board, while just less than a third said they opposed it. About 14 percent either didn’t take a position or wrote with comments about the pros and cons of such a board.

The Citizen reviewed all but one of the 205 comments that had been sent by July 2 to civilianreviewboard@henrico.us, an email address established last week by the county to receive such input.

Overall, 111 respondents fully or generally supported the concept, 58 opposed it and 30 expressed no firm opinion. Several people wrote more than once. One respondent asked the county to withhold his or her comments from public view, and though not required legally, the Citizen is honoring that request. The county continues to accept input through the e-mail address.

Henrico’s Board of Supervisors is weighing the idea of establishing such a board – something a number of jurisdictions nationwide have done or are considering in light of the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests throughout the U.S.

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson proposed the idea in June, and the other four members of the board told the Citizen they either supported it or were open to considering it.

But supervisors are not planning to take any action until after the Virginia General Assembly considers the concept for possible implementation statewide later this summer.

Respondents express variety of views

Several respondents wrote that while they support the police, they believe the implementation of a CRB could be only a positive move.

“I feel it will be 100% necessary to institute some kind of citizen review board here in Henrico County,” wrote western Henrico resident Tyler Currie. “Although I fully support our men and women in blue, I believe all actions from people with as much power as they do should be checked by the public.”

Wrote Glen Allen resident Christopher Choi: “Such a review board will help stave off the possibility/temptation of corruption inherent to investigations of police affairs conducted by the police. Further, it will hold the police accountable to the will of the people.”

Ann Hechler of Varina and Ja’Nelle Payne of the West End each wrote to express their support for the creation of CRB even though each said their interactions with police had been good ones.

A number of respondents indicated that if a board is formed, those chosen to serve on it should be required to complete the Henrico Police Citizens’ Academy to get a more complete understanding of the roles and responsibilities of officers. Many also suggested that the board reflect the racial demographics of the county. Some requested that it have subpoena power.

But others wrote that civilians simply wouldn’t be qualified to cast judgment upon the actions of the police.

“A civilian review board would play ‘Monday morning quarterback’ on decisions, sometimes life and death, that a police officer has seconds to make,” wrote Thomas Crotts of Glen Allen, who described himself as a former police officer, magistrate, criminal justice professor and correctional officer. “These decisions are based on training, law, mindset and experience of police officers that civilians, even lawyers, have no clue how to comprehend, interpret, or analyze because they have never been in those shoes.

“Anyone, civilian review boards included, will never be able to analyze the totality of the circumstances involved in a highly charged incident. They can only imagine. Heck, we have civilians still saying in a police involved shooting, ‘Why couldn’t you have shot him or her in the leg?’ Anyone in the law enforcement field can tell you how absurd that is based on training, law, and experience.”

Wrote S. Weddle of the West End: “This is akin to having a group of lay people with no understanding of medicine reviewing, reprimanding, and controlling how a doctor performs medicine or surgery.  Decisions will be based in emotions and ignorance.”

Denise Terry, who said she worked as a secretary in the Henrico Chief of Police’s office for several years, wrote that the division has always policed itself.

“The Police Department has always investigated complaints and have held officers responsible when they were wrong,” Terry wrote. “Henrico County Police has a positive reputation and I feel this committee being formed would certainly affect the morale of these fine officers.”

Another resident wrote that establishing a CRB would not make sense.

“The Board of Supervisors should start supporting police and stop with knee jerk political reactions,” wrote West End resident Erik Siebert. “Henrico PD is one of the most professional and responsible police departments in the country. I will vote against any board members who campaigns on an anti-police platform.”

Current, former officers weigh in

Current and former police officers wrote to express views on both sides of the topic.

Former Assistant Henrico Police Chief Jim Fitzgerald, who served with the division from 1976 until his retirement in 2016, raised 11 questions about the possible creation of the board – all centered around one underlying query: “[W]what is the purpose of the CRB? [W]hat systemic or other problems have been identified within the Police causing for an additional layer of review?” he asked. “The members of Henrico Police have earned and deserve your support and encouragement. Indeed, our citizens demand it!”

Retired officer Charles Hanna wrote that a CRB could help the division if implemented correctly.

“A Citizen's Review Board has been proven in areas where it was "forced" on an agency, to help develop trust in the serving law enforcement agency,” Hanna wrote. “The rank and file of any agency, to include Henrico Police, will hate the idea of a "CRB" overseeing and making recommendations about internal actions of an officer.  The CRB must be developed and trained to understand policing, policy, and human dynamics during stressful, chaotic, and life threatening incidents. The CRB cannot be politicized and viewed as a tool to discredit the agency. That is what scares all law enforcement about a CRB being implemented.”

Without taking a side, former Henrico officer Doug Johnson wrote that the division should make itself as transparent as possible to the public – perhaps by showing video of its training exercises and posting use-of-force policies on its website and social media platforms.

“I am in compliance now and if you have a policy you should be able to defend it and not worry about who sees it,” he wrote. “Invite civic leaders to the training academy to watch these sessions live and ask questions. Work with the County Attorney’s office and Risk Management to implement these transparencies.

“By showing training, posting certain policies and procedures, and engaging civic leaders and the public, Henrico County can lead the change that will spread. Police departments copy each other when something works. This will work to gain community trust and showcase a police department that is dedicated to including the public it serves.”

One man stopped 'too many times to count' by police

Several respondents shared personal stories explaining why they felt a CRB is necessary.

One, Emmanuel Harris, who described himself as a 48-year-old Black man and lifelong Henrico resident, wrote that although he has no criminal record, he had been stopped by police since the age of 16 “too many times to count in Henrico and the Metro Area.”

“I have been stopped for drunk driving and asked to get out of the car and pass sobriety tests when I had an infant in the back seat. There was absolutely no alcohol in my system at all,” he wrote. “I have been stopped because a young black man robbed McDonald's, and I was a young black man. I have been stopped by multiple police cars for a traffic infraction. And I even heard an officer say he is going to hide out in poor black communities to try and catch speeders.

“Those are a few examples, but I have been stopped many times, and any of those stops can go wrong if I reach the wrong way or make the wrong move. Meaning that I am 4 times more likely to die in a stop gone wrong than my white counterparts.”

A Black woman wrote that although she had positive experiences with Henrico Police related to a domestic situation involving an ex-boyfriend, an incident last year shattered her trust.

The woman was suicidal, and a friend contacted her therapist, who called police to check on her. But the officers who arrived, she wrote, “both began smirking, laughing, and touting racially charged misogynistic remarks at me” and later yelled at her to “Eat something!” as if to suggest that her state of mind was related to lack of food.

Then after an officer asked if she knew who the president was and she replied correctly, he yelled “This is Trump America!” she wrote.

The woman wrote that she has not filed a complaint because she feared no one would believe her because of the stigma of mental health.

“If that happened to me (an affluent, educated, law abiding, individual) I can only imagine what other citizens are experiencing during a mental health crisis,” she wrote.

Several respondents who didn’t choose a side said that if the county does form a CRB, it should create one that best reflects a variety of community viewpoints.

“I have no problem with a mixed review board consisting of police, legal and civilian members,” wrote Catherine Schuchman. “I am against a completely civilian review board because I feel it is necessary that when a police matter is being reviewed it is essential that input from multiple outlooks of an issue is part of the review. And NO politicians or elected officials on the board.”

Glen Allen resident Jennifer Farmer expressed similar sentiments.

“I am not opposed to this review board if it serves its purpose and ensures that ‘bad apples’ are not giving the department a bad name and being handled accordingly,” she wrote. “I sure do NOT want this put in place to scrutinize our officers every decision and deter good people from serving their community and keeping it safe."

Support for the CRB was fairly evenly split among the county's five regions, at least among the 80 respondents who provided their addresses. Twenty-three proponents of the board live in Henrico's Northside, 16 apiece in the Near West End and Eastern Henrico, 15 in the Far West End and 12 in Glen Allen.

Those who said they opposed a CRB and who provided their addresses also were split fairly evenly: 11 in Glen Allen, 10 in Eastern Henrico, 9 apiece in the Near West End and Far West End, and just 1 in Northside.