Portsmouth's interim police chief resigns after three months

I'm DEAD serious. I live in Cradock and am a member of the Neighborhood Watch. I know what Watson, Cherry, Johnson have done and know what others have NOT done.

"Unintelligent"? Hardly.

Name-calling and posturing don't change the facts. Visit a Watch meeting in Cradock and see who makes excuses for being out of town, ill, or in court. It's not the Sheriff's team. They see their job to fruition.

Lee Cherry for Chief? Bill Watson for Chief? Sheriff's Office cleaned up Cradock? You guys are funny and very uninformed! Bill Watson is a great Sheriff I agree. Lee Cherry is a great Deputy, again I agree. The Sheriff's Office HELPED to get Cradock where it is today, that I would agree too. No one will be a good Chief of Police until the city manager and council lets the Chief they appoint be the Chief... but they won't! It would not matter who you make Chief, your City Manager and Council will not let them do their job, this should be apparent by now! The reason Sheriff Watson is a good Sheriff is because he is an elected official and the city can't stop him or tell him what to do. The Sheriff's office helped the Police Department (including but not limited to) Officer Baker and the Police Department's Neighborhood Strike Team to clean up Cradock, check your stats, ask someone and do some research before you post, otherwise you just sound unintelligent!

I want to start by saying thank-you to the sheriffs dept. they have Made CRADOCK a great place to live again.The person that needs to be police cheif is Lee Cherry of the sheriffs dept he and Bill Watson will make the streets of Portsmouth Safe All this bull crap of fighting for money boy the police dept here is the most underpaid in the area Holley all he is worried about is spending billions of dollars on the hotel in victory crossing and wasting money in the common area of downtown we need a new mayor that know's where to spend money and what is best for Portsmouth. And the sheriff needs to keep up the good work of cleaning up the streets of Portsmouth someone needs to do it
Again LEE CHERRY for police cheif

the Sheriff appointed as the Chief of Police! He has creative ideas about using resources to get a very important job done. He's not afraid to express himself nor does he kowtow to politicians. Watson is a confident law-enforcement officer. I'd be proud to have him as the permanent Police Chief of Portsmouth! Where do I sign??

I hear a great deal of compliments for all the Sheriff's Office is doing here along with the complaints, but I don't hear the same for the Police Department. While I would love to see both departments working well together, perhaps some of the local government control issues are holding the Police Department back. Maybe it takes a politician (the Sheriff) to be able to overcome this. Whoever can do it, just keep Portsmouth safe!

Portsmouth's version of the dictionary's meanings:

Chief of Police –noun- a person who, regardless of actual attitude, always expresses agreement with his or her supervisor (City Manager) or will be forced to resign, superior, etc.; sycophant.
City Council -adjective- of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile, without useful qualities; of no practical good.
City Manager –noun- the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.
Mayor –noun- A person who possesses hatred or intolerance of another race or other races and of mild mental illness having a mental age of from 7 to 12 years and generally having communication and social skills enabling some degree of academic or vocational education.

Can anyone tell me since when is it legal for a deputy escorting a funeral on a m/c to ride on top of the broken white divider line between the 2 lanes of westbound traffic on Portsmouth Blvd. with only emergency lights flashing, no siren, just to get to an intersection? Or how about jack-rabbiting from stoplight to stoplight at 60+ mph and not initiating the siren until almost at the next intersection? Obviously the deputies escorting the funerals don't know that while doing these ILLEGAL manuevers (which I have seen time and time again!) they relinquish their right of way and if they're involved in an accident THEY ARE AT FAULT AND LIABLE. The same goes with search and seizure laws. I am all for additional manpower on the street "getting it done" but there are rules and laws of evidence and search and seizure that have to be followed and if you don't know what you're doing and are doing it wrong it m

The Sheriffs patrolling in Craddock and Cavalier Manor is kind of like community policing. They probably know half of the residents of those neighborhoods from their time spent in the courts and the jail.

I think having a presence in those neighborhoods is good, but competing for money with the police dept to patrol is not good.

The sheriffs department is trying to do a good thing but are seriously undertrained. As an officer in Portsmouth, I have seen this first hand. This is not to put anyone down but they need more search and seizure and patrol tactics training. I have seen citizens having their 4th Amendment Rights violated and had to act immediately to stop it. For the citizens who state, "I don't care as long as someone is cleaning up the streets", let me hear that once they stop and search you without justification. We have laws and we must, even if it helps the criminal element, follow them. They don't complete a thorough Field Training Program or even train on their motorcycles. Come on Watson, one deputy has died and 2 hurt as a result of you not allowing them to train regularly? Why? As for the Chief, happy retirement and we think the world of you.

just GET IT DONE!

This whole discussion about competition between the Police Department and Sheriff's department is absurd! Crime is crime and we're sick of it. If the Sheriff is accomplishing the job, criminals are being put behind bars. The neighborhood NIOs should spend less time socialing in the neighborhood and more time making arrests and following up on tips given them by the citizens. Who cares who gets credit for it?!?!?

Chief of Police- the head or leader of an organized body of Police; the person highest in authority: the chief of police.
City Council- a municipal body having legislative and administrative powers, such as passing ordinances and appropriating funds.
City Manager- a person not publicly elected but appointed by a city council to manage a city.
Mayor- the chief executive official, usually elected, of a city, village, or town.

The battle is not between the Police Department and the Sheriff's Office, It never was. The battle is against City Hall and the idiots in it. The Police department and Sheriff's Deputies have always worked pretty close and well together. On occasion the Sheriff will sweet talk City Hall and tell them how good a job him and his street unit are doing, get a couple of dollars and buy some good equipment and there is debate as to whether or not the Sheriff wants to take over all of the law enforcement duties in the city but that's small potatoes compared to the issue of the City Manager, the Mayor and his council wanting to run a Police Department which they so dearly hate.

Good. Hit the road,Corvello. You are NOT stupid and/or corrupt. You are just as out of place in Portsmouth as the Clampetts were in Beverly Hills. Don't worry, before anyone knows it, some village somewhere will be missing an idiot, and he or she will be the new Chief of Police .Mayor Holley For President, YAY!!

Ironically Portsmouth is not what outsiders think of when they convey their false perceptions of the "dirty south" and corruption. The demographics really show that the 'good ole boy' network can be found in the most unexpected places.

I have printed this before but I received a ticket for doing nothing. I plead my case to the judge and he agreed I had not broken the traffic law I was charged with. He then found me guilty and fine me. He told me it was up to me to move on to a higher court for justice. The fix is in from the top down in that city. Stay away.

PSO sure has cleaned up Craddock. Taken a bite out of crime and all that. Don't get me wrong. The deputies working the streets are doing what they were told. And they are trying to do it well. But sit in court and watch a case for narcotics - if you can find one. Better yet, find out how many convictions they have received based on the number of arrests committed. The deputies do a fine job working process, court security and the jail as well as intake. But their experience is there, not on the street. Watson is making a policical move at the expense of his deputies to garner support. Eald/David, if you did a little research, like what I have mentioned, you find yourself a little more informed before spouting off ill-conveived opinions. Brown shirts do an admirable job completing the duties governed by the Commonwealth. Leave the PD alone and allow them to do their job without interference from city h

Portsmouth can't even manage to keep probably the best man for the job in a hundred years as a temp. Let's all turn to the sheriff and let his deputies manage the wild west (that's about the level of their training). Just yesterday two deputies conducted a vehicle pursuit and followed NONE of the policies or procedures for a vehicle pursuit and required police assistance to capture the bad guy. All of this while two sheriff's department lieutenants were on duty and said nothing. I'm sure you folks wont hear it that way the next time you talk to Bill Watson, but buy a police scanner. As for city management, go ride along with the police instead of the sheriff. If you want to know what the sheriff SHOULD be doing, go see how understaffed the jail, the courts and booking are. As for the lack of obvious communication within, not surprised at all. Mr. Moody, Mr Whitehurst and Mr. Heretick, I expect at least from you, Please look into this.

This is another reason why I thank my lucky stars I am not a Portsmouth Resident. Not only did the city have to deal with an ex Sheriff who should have been arrested for Drunk Driving, a Mayor who is a complete racist, and now a Police Chief, who is smart enough to see the writing on the wall, and got out when he should. I have been a resident of Hampton Roads my entire life, and have never seen a city as poorly run as Portsmouth. My sympathy goes out to all the citizens of Portsmouth, who have to live in this "debacle" of a city on a daily basis.

Is it possible for a city of its size to collapse? I mean to be a political and social wasteland, requiring another city and its professionals to come in and absorb Portsmouth's boundaries for its own to save its former citizens?! From things I've seen after spending years with work contacts who operate out of Portsmouth and things we see and hear coming out of Portsmouth, my scenario seems frighteningly plausible.

And though damaging as it may be to say this; I kinda hope that it does happen for the fact that loyal citizens deserve better treatment and I don't like seeing a scrub racist like Holley being PAID to make hideous comments and subject folks with his visual/verbal/sensory filth!

David-73 Just to let you know, all of the work the Sheriff's Office has taken credit for in any neighborhood in Portsmouth was credit taken but work done by the Portsmouth Police Department's Neighborhood Impact Officers with assistance from two or three of the Sheriff's deputies.

Chief Corvello,

Kudos to you for being a true Police Chief and not a Political Pawn.

Portsmouth city management has some very serious leadership problems.

is absolutely correct. The Sheriff's department has run circles around the Portsmouth Police Department. They have effected change in Cradock beyond anyone's expectations! Seems to me there are some sour grapes on the part of the Police Department. The Interim Chief was an INTERIM chief. It's Portsmouth's duty to research and retain a new, permanent Chief. The fall-out of crime in our city is due, in part, to the lack of leadership from within.

I find it interesting that Portsmouth hasn't been in the news of late. Is it because the Mayor is trying to lay low after his oral debacle? We're not going to let the situation go away.

The city has successfully run off another Chief of Police, this time the most qualified and upstanding man the department will ever see. If the city manager, mayor and council will not let a retired superintendent of the Virginia State Police fix the issues and be the "Chief of Police of Portsmouth" then you can go ahead and throw in the towel because that is the problem.... the city manager wants total control- he wants to and will remain to be the Chief, the mayor doesn't like people of another color and the rest of the council dislikes their city and just enjoys being in power themselves instead of doing anything that is progressive for the city of Portsmouth. Any puppet, I mean any Chief they hire will be a "Yes Man" (or woman) to the city manager and the Police department will continue to be a revolving door for Police recruits to become Officers, receive some training at the expense of the city

Portsmouth citizens would probably be better served if Portmouth were to be divided and annexed by the surrounding cities. Providng these other cities would accept the burden. I kid!

The interm police chief is leaving because he can. He was only interm and was not supposed to be there long. The council thought the longer they could drag out hiring a new chief the longer Corvello would stay. Corvello is taking his football and going home because everyone would not play ball with him. What a shame. He has some responsibility in leaving early. He didn't complete his task that he accepted when he took the position. Wouldn't it be great if we all could quit our job everytime we didn't get our way? I belive the Sherrif's Dept. stepped in to do some work because the police Dept. was not doing it. Don't blame the sherrif, blame city council. Also, No one stays as chief in Portsmouth and Corvello mentions this in his letter because of the City Manager controlling everything in the police Dept. He would not let Corvello re-organize his personel. City managers have micro managed the polic

Portsmouth as a City has the lowest quality of City leaders anywhere in Virginia. There is corruption beyond anyone's imagination and that is why Police Chiefs leave this sick little city. Portsmouth Council and City leaders are self-serving neophytes with little education and even less IQ. If you look at each person, especially the Mayor it is abundantly clear that there just isn't any intellectual ability to work with. Portsmouth is a loser, has been and will continue to be. Look at the investors who come to Portsmouth, slum lords and professional discrimination champions. There isn't much hope or future for this nasty little hole.

Having lived in Portsmouth my entire life and having held a career with the PPD until my retirement in 2003 I have seen my fair share of chiefs come and go. I'm not surprised that Bill Corvello refuses to play puppet to City Hall- he is too much of a man of integrity. When he first came to the PPD as an interim chief he made several changes right away and we could see a ray of hope that we finally had someone to take control and run the PPD like it should be. Unfortunately when they hired a "permanent" chief things went back to the same old status quo and morale plummeted. So the morons that run City Hall call him back for a second stint at interim chief until they find yet ANOTHER "permanent" chief and still won't give him the resources or allow him to run the department as he sees fit as THE CHIEF OF POLICE. I don't blame him for bailing out, I just feel sorry for my former co-workers that are going to have to put up

From a city that spends 50 million a year to fund crime. You read that right. Gangs are walking to Portsmouth from New York to enjoy the lavish benefits bestowed by Portsmouth known as Social Services. Both the PD and the Sheriffs department are working under terrible conditions that most people wouldn't do at twice the pay. Don't try and play the PD against the Sheriffs office. We all know the real problem is on the 6th floor of City Hall. Why the City increased the welfare budget by 12 million to subsidize gangs yet pays its Public Safety personnel so little is beyond me.

This is just another example how city council wants a Chief that they can manipulate and control. Why don't you untie the department's hands and let them do their job they have been asking to do so they stop looking like idiots? Heretick? Psimas? MOODY? Come on! You have not been behind the department since elected. All three of you are elected officals looking to serve your own needs. You can't tell me every Chief that has served in P-Town has been inept or they used it as a stepping stone. Maybe they just got tired of being a puppet for self serving council members and city managers. Why fight for change for a government who don't want it? Nice teamwork. Incredible.

For one thing, he never was supposed to be here long. For another, the incompetents who run the city will never do what needs to be done to keep the Chief, or the officers of the department from bleeding experience to other agencies on a constant basis. Things in PPD are horrible, and getting worse by the day. The saddest thing is that most of the officers come there really wanting to do a good job and they end up leaving as soon as they find another job. And the chiefs know they won't be given what they need to solve the problems, so they leave too.

City Council should shift the Sheriff's Department duties to the Commonwealth Attorney, Earle Mobley, he would accomplish them all in a efficient, professional manner without interfering with the police departments responsibilities.