In unprecedented move, Leesburg Police Department refers citizen to public information officer

In an unprecedented act that can only be described as bizarre, the Leesburg Police Department earlier this week referred a citizen seeking assistance concerning a crime outside its agency altogether.

Lt. Melissa Codori was contacted for help with a matter because she had previously resolved an issue in the individual's neighborhood when other officers had failed to do so. Because she was regarded as an officer who solves problems, the individual sought her out again for assistance.



Lt. Codori agreed to meet with the individual at the police department. Upon arriving at the police department, instead of sitting down with the individual and hearing what the concern was, she stood in a doorway that leads to office space and attempted to hand the individual a yellow sticky note with an email address on it and said, "The department is referring you to Kara Rodriguez."

Kara Rodriguez is the public information officer for the Town of Leesburg. Her role does not encompass any duties associated with the police department, and the police department has never referred a citizen to Rodriguez previously concerning a citizen's request for police assistance.

When the individual asked why they were being referred to Rodriguez, Lt. Codori stated, "My supervisor told me to refer you to her."

Lt. Codori's supervisor is Captain Robert Spano. He has been with the department since 2024. In that short period of time, he has been promoted twice - from officer to lieutenant and then to captain.

The citizen then asked to speak to Captain Spano and was told by front desk staff that he was out of the building.

It is not standard practice for a person who has been a victim of a crime and is seeking assistance from the police department to refer them outside of the police department. In fact, it's unheard of.

When questioned why this was done, Spano responded through an email:

"... any member of the public [is] welcome to contact the Leesburg Police Department at any time to report a new crime or provide additional information regarding an existing report. You may do so by telephone or by coming to the Police Department.
Depending on the circumstances, an on-duty patrol officer may respond to your location, meet with you at the Police Department, or contact you by telephone. If you need further assistance, you may also ask to speak with the on-duty patrol supervisor.
Lt. Codori is not assigned to the Patrol Bureau. Requests for a particular officer or supervisor do not change the Department’s established process for receiving and documenting reports or additional information.
You have been provided with the appropriate avenues for any further reporting or assistance. Absent new information requiring further action, we consider this matter closed."

Spano describes the appropriate action for a citizen to take is to contact the police by phone or coming to the police department as the standard for a citizen asking for assistance.

Yet when the citizen did exactly that - came to the department - they were referred outside of the agency altogether.

When asked why Spano was circumventing his own agency's established standards, he did not respond further.

This reporter has previously written about the Leesburg Police Department, most recently an article that ran in April 2026:

patch.com/virginia/leesburg/lawsuits-continue-stack-against-leesburg-police-department-nodx

The department frequently advertises for new officers, and has recruited officers who have had no previous education in criminal justice, relevant internships or field experience in law enforcement. An example of this is Josiah Donohue, whose employment history before joining the department consisted of being a piano teacher.

The department seems a bit desperate and the quality of officers is questionable given:

1) Officers being promoted very quickly after joining department.

2) Officers not interested in resolving low level quality of life issues and seeming quite annoyed when having to respond to such calls such as the infamous "Flag Man of Leesburg," general nuisance calls, parking issues, trespassing issues, juveniles being destructive, etc.

Though community policing has been a successful model in policing for decades, and the department states it assigns officers to certain areas of the Town for these efforts, officers rarely attend HOA meetings or develop meaningful contacts or relationships within neighborhoods, which would help to squash problems before they escalate. Instead of being proactive, they are reactive and then annoyed on top of being reactive, which is not a good public image, nor successful for solving problems.

3) The number of officers decertified within the department - including one, Austin Kallmayer, who had to be sued by the Town of Leesburg.

4) The department losing certification in December 2022 due to four administrative errors in financial audits, evidence room access, policy language, and less-lethal shotgun training. The certification was reinstated in May 2024 after correcting the issues.

5) Chief Pirnat bringing her public information officer with her to ensure she is photographed at multiple Town events each to appear "visible" in the community, at the expense of establishing genuine relationships with citizens/groups in Town who would then support and trust her. This has been a frequent complaint about Pirnat during here tenure - the publicity of the role taking precedence over grass roots connection with the community.

Chief Pirnat had an annual salary of $229,019 in 2025, according to public records. This salary was 120% higher than the average and 141% higher than the median salary in Town of Leesburg. Pirnat's salary generally runs 3% higher than the average chief's salary in Virginia.

The Leesburg Police Department has room for improvement, and taxpayers are paying the cost. To start, it should treat all citizens equally and fairly, without letting personal dislike for particular citizens or situations detract from professionalism and integrity. Referring a victim of a crime to the Town's public information officer is about as far as you can get from excellence in policing and only serves to deepen an already poor opinion of the department.