Loudoun Board Approves Study To Explore County Police Department

LEESBURG, VA — The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to conduct a study to examine if it should consider creating a police department similar to the departments in other major jurisdictions in Northern Virginia. Under the motion approved by the board, the study must be completed by April 2021.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office currently handles all law enforcement duties in the county. Under a police department structure, the new Loudoun police department would handle law enforcement duties, while the sheriff’s office would likely oversee courthouse security and oversight of the jail.

Supporters of the creation of a police department structure believe it would produce greater accountability and transparency of policing in the county. Currently, there is no formal oversight of the sheriff's office and the sheriff oversees investigations into his own department.

The national focus on law enforcement reform sparked by the death of George Floyd has inspired the move to create greater accountability. Some in the community, however, are opposed to the idea because they believe it would take too much power away from the elected sheriff's position.

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall (D) originally supported a proposal for the board to vote on whether to hold a public referendum to create a county police department. But she put those plans on hold to instead take up the issue of conducting a study of a police department structure.

Randall has pointed out that Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputies can be fired without warning or recourse at the beginning of each new term. “If a deputy’s employment is not renewed, that individual has no human resources or county grievance recourse,” Randall said. “In short, they are out of a job with very little or no notice, and no ability for their case to be reviewed.”

Several dozen people, including many gun rights advocates, gathered outside the Loudoun County Government Center in Leesburg Tuesday to show their support for keeping a sheriff's office structure. Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman (R) mingled with his supporters outside the government center as the county board of supervisors met inside.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office conducted an in-house study, released last week, that found creating a police department in Loudoun would cost at least $20 million for personnel and equipment start-up costs. The study also concluded that creating a new police department would force the acquisition of new technical equipment and ongoing upkeep of about 46,000-square-feet of additional office space for another headquarters facility.

At Tuesday's meeting, Supervisor Juli Briskman (D) said she supported the motion to conduct a study because it will provide time for county staff to collect "accurate information" about the pros and cons of a police department.

“It is an understatement to say that the county sheriff has produced and distributed at taxpayer expense inaccurate information over the past several weeks and unethically used county resources to do so," Briskman said.

The supervisor also stated that creating a police department would take partisan politics out of one of the largest departments in the county. Every four years, sheriffs must campaign for reelection like any other politician.

Supervisor Caleb Kershner (R), who supports keeping the sheriff's office in Loudoun County, said Tuesday that the decision to conduct a study on whether to create a police department is about “who controls the reins of power. That’s really what this is about."

“When it comes to the sheriff’s office, who do we trust to keep the public safe? Bureaucracy or democracy?” asked Kershner.

The supervisor criticized police departments across the country that since the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in late May have sought to hold certain police officers accountable for alleged brutality and illegal actions. These police departments "throw their officers under the bus," Kershner said.

Chapman has come out against police reform measures as many residents call for greater accountability of police. The sheriff said residents can trust him to make the right decisions when they receive complaints about sheriff deputies.

Chapman has said a civilian police review board is not needed in the county because he is "held accountable by the citizens of the county anyway because I'm an elected official." The sheriff's current term expires at the end of 2023.

Under the motion approved Tuesday, Loudoun County Administrator Tim Hemstreet is expected to hire a consultant to review the county's current structure and provide insight into the costs and effectiveness of a new police department in the county.