Chesapeake will hire consultant to review police staffing, procedures

CHESAPEAKE   

The city will hire an independent consultant to review the Police Department's procedures, policies and staffing levels, City Manager William Harrell announced Tuesday.

Harrell's decision comes less than two weeks after Chesapeake Detective Jarrod Shivers was shot and killed while executing a drug search warrant on a home in the city's Portlock section.

However, Harrell and other city leaders would not specifically say the review was brought on by Shivers' death and questions surrounding the incident.

"This is not an investigation, but an operational review," Harrell said.

Harrell and retiring police Chief Richard Justice would not answer questions about Shivers and the man charged with killing him Jan. 17, Ryan Frederick. Justice said the commonwealth attorney's office is examining the case but added that an outside review is an option if city officials aren't satisfied with the state attorney's conclusion.

The consultant will focus not on a single case but on the department's operating and administrative procedures, policies and training, city documents say. It will look at staffing levels "in light of the growth of the city," according to the documents. And it will review how the Police Department responds to media, trains its employees, and handles citizen complaints.

Some City Council members insisted that the timing of the review has more to do with Justice's retirement in April and less to do with recent events such as Shivers' death. "This is much more global than any specific incident," Councilwoman Rebecca Adams said.

Still, the search warrant execution has drawn some critics after Frederick told reporters he had no idea Shivers and other police officers were outside his Redstart Avenue home when he got out of bed and grabbed a gun. Police said they clearly announced their presence and were wearing marked helmets. Frederick said someone had broken into his garage just days before the shooting and that he was trying to protect himself.

Harrell said he hopes the city will have a consultant on board within 30 days and that it will look for guidance from groups such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the International City/County Management Association. He said he would like to see a consultant's full report within 120 days.

"We want it to be done comprehensively and executed to perfection," said Harrell, who added that policy changes could be made sooner than 120 days if that is what's needed.

At a news conference Tuesday at City Hall, the city manager was flanked by Vice Mayor Dwight Parker and council members Adams, C.E. "Cliff" Hayes Jr., and Alan Krasnoff.

Harrell made it clear that the review was his decision. Justice said he found about the consultant on Monday and that he welcomed the review. Harrell said he was driven to act in part by the deaths of Shivers and Chesapeake Officer Michael Saffran, who was killed in 2005 while responding to a bank robbery.

"The city of Chesapeake has tragically lost two officers in the line of duty in little over two years," Harrell said. Losing two officers was "certainly too many," he said.

Reporters pressed Justice on whether the department had already changed policies on conducting search warrants. It has not, he said. The chief also wouldn't answer how much marijuana police say they discovered in Frederick's home the night Shivers was killed.

Justice said police would wait for all of the facts before evaluating officers' actions that night.

"To say we're going to second-guess what occurred would be premature," he said.

In an interview after the press conference, Justice admitted he hopes that the independent review results in recognizing the need for more officers on the street. "I am certain that will be a factor they see," he said.

"We're asked to do more with less, and we do," he said.

Mike Saewitz (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com