Police show up at activists’ doors

A couple of weeks ago at a community meeting, Chief Al Thomas said he wasn’t worried about handling the KKK at its July 8 rally. What concerned him more were local citizens making “poor choices.” Now some are wondering if local police made poor choices in showing up at activists’ homes and asking about their […]

Police K9s attack again

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 […]

I spy: Changes in local police surveillance

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 […]

Slow burn: New traffic project doesn’t calm all concerns

Last month, the city announced the initiation of a traffic calming project on Locust Avenue, where locals have been concerned about the influx of cars whizzing up and down the street for some time. But a resident who has persistently tracked the traffic himself says the project has had “no apparent benefit.” After a 12-year-old […]

War on drugs: When the options for addicts aren’t enough

His family and friends describe Luke Beckelman as someone with a big heart and loving soul. The former Monticello High student’s passion was hip-hop: writing it, rapping and making several videos, says his mom. He also was an addict. And he sold drugs—twice to a confidential informant in 2015—which led to his arrest for felony […]

Al Thomas sworn into office

Charlottesville’s first African-American Police Chief, Alfred Thomas, Jr., was sworn into office May 23. He succeeds Tim Longo, who worked with the department for 15 years. “You’ll notice they didn’t give me a gun yet,” Thomas said while fastening his new chief of police badge to his pants. City and county police in uniform, city […]

Partners in arms: City, county and UVA cut ribbon on indoor firing range

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, […]