VB’s new Independent Citizen Review Board for police oversight ready to take reins
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Just over two years after being created, Virginia Beach’s new, more powerful citizen police oversight board is trained and ready to go.
On Feb. 1, the Independent Citizen Review Board (ICRB) is taking over for the city’s Independent Review Panel, which was formed in 1991 to review citizens’ complaints against the police department. However critics said that panel didn’t have enough power to truly be effective.
Ahead of the transition, Virginia Beach City Council moved Tuesday night to disband the old panel to make way for the ICRB, and thanked the Independent Review Panel for their years of service.
The ICRB was launched by Virginia Beach City Council in 2021, a year after the Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed a bill following the 2020 protests over racial injustice that gave local citizen review boards more power. Those powers included the ability to subpoena witnesses and hire outside legal counsel.
Mayor Bobby Dyer and Virginia Beach Council originally weren’t going to include that subpoena power, but that changed after Donovon Lynch was shot and killed by a Virginia Beach police officer at the Oceanfront in March 2021.
Virginia Beach NAACP President Dr. Eric Majette says the new board going forward is “extremely important.”
“Number one it provides the opportunity for an independent review outside of the police department’s [internal affairs] and brings a sense of transparency and trust to the local community,” said Majette about the new 11-member board, which was appointed by city council.
Under that 2020 Virginia law, the board is required to reflect the “diversity of the locality,” something Chair Thomas Lewis says council succeeded with.
“I think they did a really good job of making our board representative of our city, from a gender standpoint, to an age standpoint, presentative of all kinds of communities, different ethnic backgrounds,” said Lewis, a 1992 Kempsville grad and license certified public accountant.
Under state code, no current or past member of the Virginia Beach Police Department can be on the review board. However retired law enforcement from other departments can serve, like former Chesapeake Police Chief Kelvin Wright. He’s serving as a non-voting law enforcement representative to the board.
Majette’s thoughts on the makeup were positive overall, though says going forward he’d like to see someone with civil rights experience and a sociology background included as well.
Going forward, Lewis says he and the rest of the board are focused on three key areas: “continuous policy improvements … instilling confidence in the city’s public safety efforts … and we really want to strengthen the relationship between the community, the city and law enforcement.”
Lewis says they’ll review to make sure conclusions from VBPD’s internal investigations are “complete, accurate and factually-supported” and also make recommendations to existing policies, as well as propose new policies going forward to both the chief of police and city manager.
“Even though something follows the letter of the law, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s following the spirit of the law,” Lewis added. “We can review, and in that review we found it was complete, accurate and factual-represented, however it doesn’t necessarily mean that there shouldn’t have been a policy in place that could have prevented some type of action. Really that’s where I see our real power lies, and our greatest opportunity is to protect the citizens as well as protecting that law enforcement official because if there wasn’t a policy, or if there should be a policy updated, that’s where we have the greatest power and opportunity to do.”
As part of their training, each of the members has undergone more than 50 hours of training with help from VBPD and the Virginia Beach City Attorney’s Office, including in the classroom and in ride-along sessions with members of VBPD.
“I think they are on the right trajectory,” says Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten, a key figure in the board’s formation. “They have been trained and they’re well poised to do the job they were sent there to do by the citizens of Virginia Beach.”
Meanwhile Majette says the NAACP is also strongly encouraging the new review board to look into the Donovon Lynch case. The shooting was deemed justified, though Lynch’s family later sued the city and was awarded a $3 million settlement.
“Have an opportunity to review that case in depth, that’s one of the things we definitely thought would’ve made a difference, some of the decisions that were made. It would bring transparency to the community,” Majette said. “[Donovon’s father Wayne Lynch] has been calling on the review board to look at his case.”
Related: Court orders fees paid to attorneys, father of Donovon Lynch in ’21 deadly shooting case
The board is also set to have several information sessions throughout the city in the coming month, Lewis says, with opportunities to speak to each of the board members. Look for information on those coming up.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
