A federal judge raised questions about an Albemarle police officer’s unprecedented late-night search of two African-American plaintiffs’ home for a piece of paper, and said a jury may find it was based on racial profiling. Fewer than two weeks before trial date, Judge Glen Conrad seemed inclined to allow Bianca Johnson and Delmar Canada’s lawsuit against […]
A federal judge raised questions about an Albemarle police officer’s unprecedented late-night search of two African-American plaintiffs’ home for a piece of paper, and said a jury may find it was based on racial profiling. Fewer than two weeks before trial date, Judge Glen Conrad seemed inclined to allow Bianca Johnson and Delmar Canada’s lawsuit against […]
Nearly 54 years ago, Charlottesville was rocked with the bizarre death of high school football star Pat Akins, 19, whose body was found under a red Triumph TR3 after purportedly having been dragged 12 miles from Crozet. Today his Rock Hill Academy classmate Jimmy Dettor is offering $20,000 for information leading to resolution of […]
In early November, an Albemarle County police K9 bit and injured a colt owned by an Augusta County farm owner—just a year and a half after a dog with the Charlottesville Police Department attacked a child. Is it time for man’s best friend to be laid off? While on a jog with its handler November […]
When photos of Danville police popping the hoods of their patrol cars spread on social media last month, so did speculation that it was being done to shield dash cams from filming officers’ interactions with civilians. While that city’s department explained that their cars have had a continual issue with overheating and it has vowed […]
A just-printed Albemarle County Police Department pamphlet was intended to build trust and cooperation between citizens and law enforcement during interactions that are now under a national spotlight. Its content, however, has alarmed some local attorneys, who say the guide’s instructions are incorrect or even unconstitutional. “The document is very concerning,” says Legal Aid Justice […]
A federal judge issued an opinion last week that allows a lawsuit against Albemarle County and police officer Andrew Holmes to proceed on its racial profiling claim, while giving Holmes qualified immunity on claims he violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment rights when he showed up at their home around midnight to look for a DMV license […]
While it’s not always smooth sailing between the city and county, collaboration was the word of the day as officers and officials from Albemarle, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia gathered May 12 to dedicate a long-in-the-works, state-of-the-art Regional Firearms Training Center. Albemarle County Police had been looking for a shooting range since the 1980s, […]
New cops are learning a strategy called fair and impartial policing, which aims to help them evaluate their biases before they take to the streets. At a May 13 six-hour course, Albemarle’s Lieutenant Mike Wagner and Master Police Officer Dana Reeves taught 13 recruits from the county, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia police […]
The high-end realtor charged with involuntary manslaughter and his second drunk driving offense for killing an elderly driver in a Memorial Day car crash last year stands trial in Albemarle Circuit Court. On April 26, a 12-person jury made of nine women and three men was selected to hear the case against Andrew Blackwell […]
Does an employer’s request for a welfare check on a man who has a gun but has made no threats to harm himself or others warrant holding him for two hours? That’s what a judge will determine in Benjamin Burruss’ lawsuit against five Albemarle police officers and the county for unlawful seizure, false imprisonment and […]