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Virginia Beach Police Department

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The Virginia Beach Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The department hires over 1,000 officers and civilians.[1][2]

Virginia Beach Police Department
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AbbreviationVBPD
MottoTruthful & honest, deserving of trust
Agency overview
Formed1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Preceding agency
  • Princess Anne County Police Department
Employees1,000
Volunteers400
Annual budget$123 million USD (2023)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionUnited States
Population451,637 (2024)
Legal jurisdictionCity of Virginia Beach
Operational structure
Headquarters2509 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Agency executives
  • Paul Neudigate, Chief of Police
  • Sean Adams, Deputy Chief
  • Shannon Wichtendahl, Deputy Chief
  • Jeffery Wilkerson, Deputy Chief
  • William Zelms, Deputy Chief
Facilities
PrecinctsFirst Precinct

Second Precinct

Third Precinct

Fourth Precinct
Website
https://police.virginiabeach.gov/

The VBPD is headquartered at 2509 Princess Anne Road, near other city buildings such as the Virginia Beach City Registrar Office and the Virginia Beach General District Court.

The VBPD services the roughly 450,000 residents of the city, which is the largest in the state, surpassing the capital city of Richmond.[3][4]

History

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English colonists at Jamestown, lead by Christopher Newport, first arrived in Hampton Roads in 1607. They had been chartered by the Virginia Company of London to set up a colony in the New World. To keep the peace, martial law, which lasted until 1619, was established in 1609 by the colony's leadership.[5][6]

Princess Anne County, the predecessor to the present-day City of Virginia Beach, was first incorporated into Virginia in 1691.[7]

In 1938, Robert E. W. Sparrow became the county's first black police officer.[8]

In 1963, the old City of Virginia Beach was merged with Princess Anne County, thereby creating the modern independent city. The resources of the Princess Anne County Police Department and City of Virginia Beach Police Department were merged into the Virginia Beach Police Department.[9][10]

In 2019, the Fourth Precinct's old building, adjacent to the Kempsville Area Library, was replaced with a new one behind the library. The new building was designed to be a "citizen-centered" facility, featuring gender-neutral bathrooms, a fitness room, and LED lighting.[11][12]

Precincts

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There are four police precincts that the VBPD services. Each precinct is further divided into zones for officers to patrol. They are simply named First, Second, Third, and Fourth Precincts.[13][14]

Rank structure

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Level Tenure as an Officer
I Graduation - 3 years
II 3 years - 6 years
III 6 years - 9 years
IV 9 years - 14 years
V 14 years - 20 years
VI 20 years +

[15]

Demographics

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In 2022, there were a total of 146,801 citizen-generated calls. This was down from the 152,847 calls in 2021.

There were 83,672 officer-generated calls in 2022. This was up from 2021, where there were 77,589 calls.

There were a total of 25,093 arrests in 2022, up from the 23,087 from 2021.

The most common victim of citywide crime was white people, with a total of 4,214.

The most common suspect sex citywide was men, with a total of 2,035.

2,312 suspects were adults, making them the most common age range citywide.

1,509 suspects were black, making them the race to be most suspect.

There were 272 white victims of violent crime citywide, making them the most common.

The most common race of suspects in citywide violent crime was black, with a total of 290 people.[16]

Controversies, incidents, and scandals

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The Virginia Beach Police Department has been the subject of multiple controversies over the years since its 1963 inception.

1960s

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During a dive team training exercise, officer Roger McClung and detective Robert Monette noticed a third diver was having trouble in the water. They managed to save the diver, but both of them drowned while doing so.[17][18]

1970s

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On Independence Day in 1976, the bicentennial of America's founding, riots erupted after bars closed at 1 in the morning. Hundreds of people clashed with police, before finally being dispersed with tear gas and K-9 units. As a result of the incident, 11 officers were injured, and 78 people were arrested.[19]

1980s

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In 1989, riots and looting broke out during Labor Day weekend, in what would become known as the Greekfest riots. A police horse was killed after it was hit in the head by an object thrown from a balcony. The VBPD abandoned the oceanfront and returned in riot gear. By dawn, the Virginia National Guard had arrived to finally quell the riots. Over 650 people were arrested.[20][21]

1990s

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In 1991, a survey conducted by the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star newspapers found a pattern of abuse among VBPD officers. Officers used unreasonable amounts of force to restrain people suspected of minor crimes. 25 people said that they had been subject to police violence.[22]

2000s

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In 2007, a 10-pound training bomb fell from a Navy fighter jet. Both the VBPD and local military police responded to the scene. There were no casualties.[23]

2010s

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In 2015, in the case of Wilis v. City of Virginia Beach, officers sued the VBPD on grounds that their employer disciplined them after they reported gender discrimination. The case was dismissed by the Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.[24]

In 2019, a disgruntled man walked into Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center and opened fire. 12 people, most of them city employees, were killed in the incident. Following the shooting, the FBI provided "significant law enforcement assistance" to the VBPD's investigation of the shooting.[25][26]

2020s

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In 2022, officers were found to have used forged DNA reports in interrogations to get confessions from five people. The incidents occurred from March 2016 to February 2020. When questioned by The Washington Post, the department said that what happened, "though legal, was not in the spirit of what the community expects."[27][28]

In 2024, in the case of Banks v. City of Virginia Beach, officer Michael Banks sued the VBPD, claiming that he had been investigated and demoted for trying to address allegations of discrimination. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court, and the case was presided over by Senior Judge Raymond Alvin Jackson.[29][30] Officer Kyle LaLonde was arrested and charged with several crimes: attempted indecent liberties with a child less than 15 years of age, attempted indecent liberties, enticing a minor to perform in child pornography, proposition of sex act by communication system with a child less than 15 years of age, solicitation to commit a felony and possession of child pornography. The documents did not say if it was one person or multiple.[31][32]

Fallen officers

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A total of 9 officers have died since the creation of the City of Virginia Beach in 1963.[33]

Rank Name Date of Death Cause of Death
Police Officer Roger L. McClung December 19, 1968 Drowning
Detective Robert R. Monette December 19, 1968 Drowning
Police Officer William Douglas Black July 11, 1979 Aircraft accident
Detective Jimmy Wayne Mobley July 11, 1979 Aircraft accident
Police Officer Daniel T. Maloney December 27, 1981 Gunfire
Auxiliary Officer George Wayne Starr August 31, 1991 Vehicular assault
Police Officer Rodney Fredderick Pocceschi June 23, 2003 Gunfire
Detective Michael Smith Phillips August 7, 2008 Gunfire
Master Police Officer David J. Nieves February 1, 2022 COVID-19

There is a memorial dedicated to fallen members of the Virginia Beach Police Department, Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, and the state and federal agencies that protect the city. Names of fallen officers are engraved in the base of the memorial. There are individual plaques that explain more about each fallen officer. The memorial was created by artist Paul DiPasquale in 2012.[34][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Police". City of Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  2. ^ "Leadership". City of Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  3. ^ "About Virginia Beach". City of Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  4. ^ "Virginia Beach, Virginia Population 2024". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  5. ^ "Jamestown - Why There?". www.virginiaplaces.org. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  6. ^ Yorktown, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 210; Us, VA 23690 Phone: 757 898-2410 Contact. ""How to Govern, and How to Obey" - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Princess Anne County". www.virginiaplaces.org. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  8. ^ "Timeline". PACVBHS. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  9. ^ "Year in Review: Reflecting on our 60th Year". City of Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  10. ^ claude.bing (2011-04-30). "The History of Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach". Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  11. ^ "Virginia Beach 4th Precinct Police Station". www.tectonarchitects.com. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  12. ^ News, The Independent (2019-09-07). "Column: Virginia Beach police await new Fourth Precinct home, grateful for support from community". The Princess Anne Independent News. Retrieved 2024-09-05. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "Precincts". City of Virginia Beach. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  14. ^ "The City of Virginia Beach - Open Data Portal". gis.data.vbgov.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  15. ^ Bruno, A. (April 15, 2020). "Professional Development Program" (PDF). City of Virginia Beach Police Department. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  16. ^ Neudigate, Police Chief Paul W. (May 13, 2023). "CFS, Arrests, and Crime Demographic Breakdown" (PDF). City of Virginia Beach - VB Police Department. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Police Officer Roger L. McClung". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  18. ^ "Detective Robert R. Monette". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  19. ^ "Virginia Beach Revelers Fight Police". The New York Times. July 6, 1976. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "Greekfest 1989: Looking back at riots that made Virginia Beach look at itself, look ahead". 13newsnow.com. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  21. ^ "VIRGINIA BEACH FESTIVAL ERUPTS INTO A RIOT". Washington Post. 2024-01-01. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  22. ^ "SURVEY FINDS PATTERN OF ABUSE BY VA. BEACH POLICE". scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  23. ^ "Virginia: Training Bomb Falls From Navy Jet". The Associated Press. October 31, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  24. ^ "Willis v. City of Va. Beach". vLex. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  25. ^ Morales, Madeline Holcombe,Holly Yan,Mark (2019-06-02). "New details emerge in the Virginia Beach mass shooting that left 12 people dead". CNN. Retrieved 2024-09-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "FBI Provides Final Briefing on the Virginia Beach Municipal Center Shooting to the Virginia Beach Police Department". FBI Norfolk. June 9, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Weiner, Rachel (2022-01-13). "Virginia Beach Police used forged forensic documents in interrogations". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  28. ^ Shivaram, Deepa (January 13, 2022). "Virginia Beach Police used forged DNA reports to get confessions, investigation finds". NPR. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  29. ^ "Virginia Beach police officer's lawsuit against city claims racial discrimination and retaliation". 13newsnow.com. 2024-05-17. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  30. ^ "Banks v. Virginia Beach Police Department et al (2:24-cv-00149), Virginia Eastern District Court". www.pacermonitor.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  31. ^ "Court documents shed more light on Virginia Beach police officer charged with child sex crimes". News 3 WTKR Norfolk. 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  32. ^ Cheek, Kevin (March 6, 2024). "Virginia Beach police officer arrested; accused of child sex crimes". Wavy. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  33. ^ "Virginia Beach Police Department, VA". The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  34. ^ "About the Memorial". Virginia Beach Police Foundation. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  35. ^ "Law Enforcement Memorial | Virginia Beach Public Art". vbpublicart.org. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
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