ALX Auditor Finds Officer Violations, Policy Gaps Contributed To 2025 Death In Custody

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The final report by Alexandria’s Office of the Independent Policing Auditor found that 3 city police officers violated policy in their handling of Allan Tucker II, 32, who died in police custody when he experienced a medical emergency in a sallyport of the Alexandria Adult Detention Center. It also found system-wide issues in detention policy, agency coordination and public oversight of law enforcement bodies.

Tucker died on August 15, 2025, after being arrested for public intoxication. Officers had been called to 2875 N. Beauregard Street to deal with a man yelling and knocking on apartment doors. They found Tucker, who seemed intoxicated, was behaving erratically and appeared to be experiencing delusions. After attempting to de-escalate, the officers took Tucker to the Alexandria jail, though on the way to the jail Tucker requested to be taken to the hospital.

Tucker arrived at the jail during a shift change and waited in a police cruiser in the sallyport for about 40 minutes. He was never medically screened. He can be heard yelling on police footage of the incident, including calling “help,” asking why the officers are “trying to kill” him, and kicking at the doors of the cruiser. Officers periodically try to calm Tucker and tell him he’s “just here to sober up” and request that he “just breathe.” Tucker stops calling for help and kicking after about 20 minutes.

He became unresponsive and later died despite lifesaving efforts by police, firefighters and EMS personnel. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was substance intoxication and classified the death as accidental.

The policing auditor's report identifies individual and system-level issues that contributed to the conditions under which the death occurred.

“Sustained violations related to officer performance, body-worn camera compliance, and custodial decision-making reflect deficiencies in the application of departmental policy during a critical incident," it notes. "At the same time, this investigation highlights broader challenges related to training, policy clarity, interagency coordination, and the availability of appropriate response options for individuals experiencing impairment or altered mental state.”

Officers committed policy violations

The investigation found that 3 officers had acted in violation of department policies. Office 1 was found to have the most consequential violations of policy.

The report found that Officer 1 continued transporting Tucker to the detention center after Tucker repeatedly requested to be taken to a hospital and failed to consistently monitor him while awaiting intake. It notes that “during the incident, Mr. Tucker exhibited signs of distress, including erratic behavior, agitation, and repeated requests for medical assistance,” but that Officer 1 continued with bringing Tucker to the detention center. It also notes that Officer 1 stated several times that Tucker was “tripping on something,” detailing his erratic speech, dilated eyes and sweating to colleagues and a supervisor.

The report concludes that Officer 1 failed to consistently monitor Mr. Tucker in the sallyport. According to the report, “Mr. Tucker made multiple statements indicating a desire for medical care. While Officer 1 interpreted these statements as part of Mr. Tucker’s altered mental state, the directives do not condition the obligation to seek medical care on an officer’s assessment of the credibility or cause of the request. Rather, the policies establish a clear requirement that such requests be addressed through appropriate medical evaluation. Based on the totality of the circumstances, the decision to continue transport to the detention center rather than seek medical evaluation was not consistent with these directives.”

Officers 1, 2 and 3 were found to have improperly muted their body-worn cameras during the incident without justifying the action, a department requirement. Officer 3 was additionally found to have used profane language toward Sheriff's Office personnel while Tucker remained in custody.

All the officers had been with the Alexandria Police Department for at least 4 years.

No policy violations were sustained against the supervising sergeant, though the report recommended further review of the sergeant's actions by the Independent Community Policing Review Board.

APD medical and transport policy requires clarification

The report recommended that the APD conduct a comprehensive review of its policies related to medical care and transport decisions for detainees, to reduce reliance on subjective interpretations by officers in high-risk situations. It noted that APD’s current directives on medical care and transport rely on an officer’s interpretation of situations in which individuals may be intoxicated or mentally altered, but that officers are not trained medical professionals.

“The circumstances of this incident demonstrate the potential for variability in decision-making when clear thresholds or guidance for determining medical need are not explicitly defined within policy,” the report notes. “In particular, the APD should consider establishing clearer guidance or thresholds for officer-initiated medical transport, clarifying how repeated requests for medical assistance should be evaluated and addressed, and identifying circumstances under which arranging medical screening prior to transport should be required.”

The report also recommended a department-wide training update on body-worn camera policies and that the department install dashboard cameras so detainees in cruisers can be documented.

System-wide gaps limit coordination, oversight

The report also found system-wide limitations that could have contributed to Tucker’s death, including Alexandria’s lack of a dedicated detoxification center, a lack of options for pre-booking medical screening, a lack of coordination between police officers and the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office during detainee handovers and a lack of Alexandria City oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, as the Office of the Independent Policing Auditor does not have oversight authority over the Sheriff’s Office or the Adult Detention Center.

The auditor’s investigation is administrative and is not intended to determine whether officers violated any laws.

The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney completed its review into Tucker’s death in January and declined to bring charges against anyone involved, concluding that Tucker’s death was accidental. Alexandria’s chief medical officer determined that Tucker had died of cocaine and alcohol intoxication.

Public hearing scheduled

The Independent Community Policing Review Board (ICPRB) will hold a public hearing regarding Tucker's death on June 29, starting at 6:30.

The ICPRB will hear the auditor’s presentation, hear public comments and facilitate discussion on the findings. Members of the public may attend and provide public comment in person or virtually.

Video of the incident can be seen here.

Read the entire report here.