Editorial: A difficult conclusion in Donovon Lynch case

Members of Donovon Lynch’s family and their supporters responded with disappointment and outrage that the special grand jury empaneled to review Lynch’s fatal March 26 shooting by a Virginia Beach police officer reflects the lack of confidence in how authorities handle these cases.

Such distrust is what drives calls for reform, including muscular citizen review boards with independent investigative authority and other reforms intended to strengthen the relationship between police and the public they serve.

This case is precisely why those are needed — not because the grand jury erred in its decision, but because there is a deficit of trust in the process that resulted in this outcome.

Eight months ago, Virginia Beach Police Officer Solomon Simmons was among those members of law enforcement who responded to a night of chaos at the Oceanfront. An unseasonably warm night in the resort area had descended into gunfire, injuring several people.

Simmons shot and killed Lynch, a 25-year-old from Virginia Beach that evening. Two narratives emerged.

According to police, Lynch pointed a gun at the officer, who responded by firing his service weapon in self-defense — a justifiable and lawful action. According to Lynch’s family, the officer shot and killed a man who was lawfully carrying a firearm under the Second Amendment — a criminal or negligent act.

A grand jury report, released this week, cleared Simmons of criminal wrong doing in the shooting. That is a difficult conclusion to accept for those who believe this was another episode of unprovoked violence by law enforcement. They feel this is further evidence of a justice system that excuses police misconduct.

However, the grand jury set forth a detailed account of the available evidence and how it reached its conclusion. Missing from that report was testimony from three witnesses, including a friend of Lynch with him at the time of the shooting, who did not agree to interviews with the Virginia State Police, which conducted the investigation.

Also missing was body camera footage of the shooting, since Simmons did not activate his camera before the shots were fired. Virginia Beach police were subsequently issued cameras that automatically activate when a service weapon is drawn but recalled them in October due to an operational defect.

That is critical evidence and it is hard to deliver justice when only one of the two narratives is given voice. The grand jury can only use the information available to make its conclusions.

Of note were the recommendations offered in the report, including to continue the investigation into the other death that night, that of 29-year-old Deshayla E. Harris of Norfolk; that “officers be tested for alcohol and drugs immediately following an officer-involved shooting”; and that “protocols and measures be put in place that ensure all body cameras are automatically activated when officers are on duty.”

The Harris investigation continues, and Beach police are seeking new vendors to equip officers with cameras that work. Officials should move to adopt the other recommendation and test officers involved in deadly incidents.

It is a credit to the grand jury, Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle and police officials that this report was made public and the reasoning was spelled out on Tuesday. Timely communication should be the rule, not an exception.

What happened on March 26 was a terrible tragedy — for the families of those killed, for those injured and for the whole community. This grand jury report will not ease the pain that lingers as a result and the Lynch family is well within its right to seek a federal investigation, as they called for on Wednesday.

But this outcome speaks to the need for communities to embrace law enforcement reforms — to adopt robust citizen review boards with investigative authority and provide transparent, independent oversight that can help protect police and citizens alike.

That will inspire confidence that difficult, emotional cases such as this will be handled in a way that the public can trust.