False imprisonment: County settles lawsuit against five cops

Benjamin Burruss sat in his car in the Comfort Inn parking lot surrounded by Albemarle police. His employer had asked police to check on him when he didn’t show up for work. Burruss told the officers he did not intend to harm himself or anyone else, and the 12-gauge shotgun in his backseat was for […]

In brief: Crime rates, questionable conduct and more

A matter of crime “We’re safer than Charlottesville.” Okay, we made up that quote. The crime rate for both Albemarle and Charlottesville is low, but according to the county police’s most recent report, Albemarle’s went down last year, while the city’s went up. Albemarle arrests by race The county is facing a lawsuit that claims […]

‘Outrageous’ search: County argues to drop lawsuit against cop

A federal judge heard Albemarle County’s motion to dismiss three lawsuits that allege Albemarle police officer Andrew Holmes targeted African-American males for unreasonable searches. At the June 20 hearing, Judge Glen Conrad focused on the suit brought by Bianca Johnson and Delmar Canada for a midnight search of their home in 2014 after Holmes ticketed Canada […]

Lantz sworn in as new Albemarle police chief

Albemarle County Police Department got its fifth police chief since the department was formed in 1983 (and second one from Fairfax County) when Ron Lantz was sworn in today at an SRO ceremony that included much of the county brass at the department headquarters . Lantz has been with Albemarle since 2012, and he succeeds […]

Exit interview: Steve Sellers sets the record straight

When Steve Sellers took the job as chief of Albemarle County Police in late 2010, he came to a department where, earlier that same year, four officers had been disciplined for inappropriate behavior on the job. He took over an organization where a dashcam video of an officer listening to the Black Eyed Peas’ “My […]

SWAT PTSD: Albemarle police sued for false imprisonment

How many cops does it take to check on a man when his employer is concerned that he hasn’t shown up for work? At least a dozen, by Benjamin Marshall Burruss’ estimate. According to his November 19 lawsuit filed in federal court, Albemarle County Police held Burruss for two hours in his truck after he […]

John Wayne Jordan escapes by Gator—briefly

John Wayne Jordan, 50, a trustee at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, disappeared on a John Deere Gator and was on the lam for about 11 minutes from the time he was reported missing until he was captured November 24. Jordan was working for the Virginia Department of Forestry on Natural Resources Drive and was […]

Candid cameras: Albemarle police hear citizen concerns on body cams

In January, C-VILLE reported that body cams were “imminent” for Charlottesville police. Nine months later, city cops still are not sporting the cameras and the University Police Department became the first local law enforcement agency to outfit its officers. The Albemarle County Police Department is moving toward the cameras as well, and approximately 50 people […]