After an 8-month freeze, the Charlottesville Police Civilian Review Board could be operational again

More than just headlines

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After five years of hard work by community volunteers, Charlottesville established a Police Civilian Oversight Board (PCOB) in March 2022. The newly formed PCOB took on its first case in August. It closed that case and began a second one.

And then the Charlottesville police stopped releasing the records.

Since last October, the city’s PCOB has been virtually nonfunctional, referring all incoming complaints or inquiries to the internal police department. Why? Police Chief Michael Kochis noticed early in his tenure that the city had no written policies on how and when the department should share information with the board.

The city’s ordinance creating the PCOB requires those policies to exist. The ordinance states that the city manager must create them “in consultation with the police chief and the board” within 45 days of the ordinance being signed. That never happened. (Charlottesville did not yet have a permanent police chief in March 2022, when the ordinance went into effect. Kochis took office in January 2023.)

Around October, Kochis therefore stopped sharing information with the board.

That was eight months ago. On Friday, City Manager Sam Sanders signed off on the new standard operating procedures that police and the board will follow. That means the PCOB could soon be back to reviewing cases, which is good, PCOB Chairman Bill Mendez told us. But he and his fellow board members are not at all happy with the new guidelines. Why? Our new health and public safety reporter, Anastasiia Carrier, has the story:

‘Disappointing’ – 8 months after Charlottesville police stopped sharing records with the Police Civilian Oversight Board, the city creates a solution the board finds unsatisfactory

As I said in the introduction, it took the efforts of many people to get here. The first board, then called the Police Civilian Review Board, was formed in 2017 and tasked with drafting the charter for the future permanent board. It took several years and several attempts before the new permanent board was formed in 2021.

We have been following the PCOB’s progress. Here are some of our reports from our archives that show what it took to get here.

It took five years, but the civilian board that oversees the Charlottesville police has filed its first case

The panel was created after the violent white supremacist demonstrations in 2017 and took years to gain the authority to investigate cases of alleged police misconduct.

Charlottesville Police Civilian Oversight Board launches online complaint portal

According to a city press release, complaints are forwarded directly to the PCOB for investigation.

Charlottesville’s Police Civilian Review Board has submitted an ordinance outlining its authority to the City Council. Here’s what happens next.

The years-long process to establish an operational Police Civilian Review Board in Charlottesville is now in a new “first phase” because the board does not yet have the new powers provided for in state law.

Take action:

If you have an issue you would like the PCOB to investigate, you can submit your complaint here. Please note that all complaints will be referred to the police, but you have the option to remain anonymous.

Thanks everyone for reading!
Jessie Higgins, Editor-in-Chief

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