Editor's note: This article has been updated since it originally appeared in print to reflect Richmond City Council's approval of public safety reforms in late July.
On June 2, the day after Richmond Police tear-gassed a crowd of demonstrators before curfew, a group marched from City Hall to the Robert E. Lee statue to protest the act. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Richmond leaders are taking steps to reform police practices in the wake of sustained Black Lives Matter protests, but as those policy changes take shape, some local organizers say they don’t go far enough.
Richmond City Council on July 27 endorsed two measures that lay the groundwork for the creation of an independent civilian review board with subpoena power to investigate police misconduct complaints and the Marcus Alert, which requires that police coordinate emergency response efforts with mental health professionals to de-escalate situations involving mental health crises.
The legislation reflects a slate of reform efforts unveiled by Mayor Levar Stoney in late June called the “roadmap for reimagining public safety,” which he said aims to address entrenched racial inequities by modifying existing police protocols and adding new public safety strategies.
“These issues are complex and have a deeply rooted and dark history,” he said during the plan’s unveiling at an informal meeting of Richmond City Council. “It’s going to take some compassion; it’s going to take a lot of conversation and a great amount of teamwork to create meaningful change in our city moving forward.”
The announcement came days after former Richmond Police Chief William Smith was ousted following weeks of clashes between police and protesters that resulted in officers tear-gassing local elected officials and members of the media, as well as demonstrators gathered at the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue before a state-imposed curfew. After Smith’s departure, RPD Maj. William Jody Blackwell took over the role on an interim basis for 10 days before resigning. He was replaced quickly by current Chief Gerald Smith.
Alongside changes to RPD practices that include updating a ban on chokeholds, Stoney explained that the civilian review board would generally be charged with examining complaints against police and making recommendations for disciplinary actions; it would operate independently of the police department. Similar investigatory bodies exist in Fairfax County, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville. Henrico County is also in the early stages of gauging community interest in a citizen-led police review board.
Stoney also committed to forming a Task Force for Reimagining Public Safety that will recommend policy changes within 45 days of its first meeting. No meeting date had been set as of press time, though Stoney said the group’s meetings and recommendations will be made public. Its 24 members include Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, councilmembers Michael Jones and Ellen Robertson, RPD Sgt. Carol Adams, and Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project (RTAP) member Keisha Cummings.
Though plans to enact these reforms are just now gaining traction, local organizers say they’ve petitioned lawmakers to support such changes for years. Yohance Whitaker, a member of RTAP, says the organization has rallied for a civilian-led police investigatory body since its formation in 2017, and he stresses that the city will need to gather community input before the review board’s formation.
“The danger with rushing community input is that the civilian review board will not reflect the community’s needs, and that will actively undermine the demand for police accountability,” he explains.
“We just want to ensure that we have as much community engagement and policy minds at the table to really get this one right.” —Fifth District Councilmember Stephanie Lynch
To address those calls, City Council unanimously signed off on legislation to first form a separate task force that will provide the council with recommendations on the civilian review board’s scope and powers before the citizen-led investigatory panel is convened. This task force will need to submit its final recommendations to council by March 1, 2021, and is unrelated to Stoney’s public safety-focused panel.
Fifth District Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, one of the measure’s patrons, says it comes down to establishing a formalized process that ensures everyone can provide input during the earliest stages.
“There’s a lot of models out there, and we just want to ensure that we have as much community engagement and policy minds at the table to really get this one right,” she says.
Additionally, Whitaker says, RTAP has urged city leaders to grant the review board subpoena power — the legal authority to summon relevant subjects to cooperate with an investigation — for its members to carry out their work effectively. During the unveiling of Stoney’s public safety plan, City Attorney Haskell Brown said council can grant that authority to the panel under the city charter, and Stoney said he’s willing to consider the notion.
Princess Blanding — the sister of Marcus Alert namesake Marcus-David Peters, a teacher who was killed by Richmond police during a mental health crisis in 2018 — says displays of police force during recent protests have eroded trust between the local community and government leaders.
Through her organization, the Justice and Reformation Coalition, Blanding has rallied for the Marcus Alert since her brother’s death.
“This plan means nothing until we see actions,” she says. “How can we move forward, and how can we reimagine, and how can we build bridges when we are actively, in real time, still getting the sharp edge of policing and excessive use of force?”
Lynch says city leaders need to rebuild trust — meeting with constituents, listening to their concerns and responding decisively.
“Folks want to be engaged, they want to be involved, they want their voices to be heard, and it’s an exciting time in local government because we have garnered that interest, and we need to create every opportunity that we can to give folks a seat at the table,” she says.
