Loudoun Sheriff, Leesburg Chief Oppose Citizen Oversight Boards

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Law enforcement leaders in Loudoun County are opposing police reform measures as residents in Virginia and across the nation call for greater accountability of police and express frustration with political leaders' unwillingness to enact major policing reforms in the wake of another killing by a police officer caught on video.

The Loudoun County sheriff and the Leesburg police chief said residents can trust them to make the right decisions when they receive complaints about police officers or sheriff deputies. During a virtual forum sponsored by the Loudoun branch of the NAACP on Saturday, the two law enforcement officials refused to support the creation of a police civilian oversight board similar to the one established in Fairfax County in 2017.

For years, residents, academics and activists have been calling for major reforms of how police departments are run, including holding the police more accountable. Due to their close relationship with the police, prosecutors very rarely bring charges against police officers.

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said a civilian 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." Chapman also said he reviews every complaint submitted by residents to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Sheriffs in Virginia are elected to four-year terms.

"When you see a horrific incident like that, it really does set us all back," Chapman said about the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police and the work that police agencies have done to build better relationships with the public.

"That’s an anomaly what you saw there. You’ve got 800,000 law enforcement officers nationwide. Please don’t judge all law enforcement on that incident," the sheriff said. "The vast majority of law enforcement officers and officials out there are trying to do the right thing and trying to do it by the book."

Leesburg Police Chief Greg Brown, who previously worked under Chapman in the Loudoun sheriff's office, said it feels like the public is "constantly coming at the police." In opposing the creation of a citizens' review board of the police, Brown said, "I’m very accountable and transparent."

During the same virtual forum, U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, whose district includes Loudoun County, pointed out that a citizen oversight board for its police department and sheriff's office already exists in Fairfax County. That board, known as the Police Civilian Review Panel, meets monthly and reviews investigations into complaints against police “to ensure accuracy, completeness, thoroughness, objectivity, and impartiality.”

In an email to Patch Tuesday, Wexton's spokesman said the congresswoman supports the creation of a citizen review board in Loudoun County.

Loudoun NAACP President Michelle Thomas organized the May 30 virtual forum after the police killing of George Floyd, another in a long string of police killings of black people. Thomas said a civilian review panel could be needed in the future if successors to Chapman and Brown do not share their views on transparency and holding police officers responsible for illegal actions.

"I don’t want to position our community to depend solely just on the goodness and the integrity of Mike Chapman and Chief Brown," Thomas said. "I know good and well that my kids are safe for right now. I just worry when you retire. So we must depend on policies and procedures to make sure that generationally the good work that you’ve started continues."