HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Henrico County Board of Supervisors is no longer proposing the establishment of a civilian review board.
Henrico County Supervisor Tyrone Nelson initially proposed the review board to oversee the Henrico County Police Department last June. A civilian review board is one of many criminal justice reform ideas considered by localities all over the country after the death of George Floyd. Locally, the City of Richmond is in the process of creating a civilian-led police oversight board.
Nelson withdrew his proposal for a similar board in Henrico last week. He says he could tell he wouldn’t have majority support for the plan.
After a five-hour meeting in August, the majority of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors voiced their support for a civilian review board but no official vote was cast. At that meeting, a majority of community speakers also said they were in favor of the board.
In October, the General Assembly passed a new law allowing localities to have review boards with investigative and subpoena power.
Henrico County opened a new position at the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office last year to review accusations of excessive use of force by police.
