Police
….She was placed on hold, and waited nearly 4 minutes before talking to a dispatcher…. wric.com
One day after a civil-liberties group blasted the Richmond Police Department’s practice of knocking on doors late at night to tell residents they are at risk of a car break-in, police officials said today they are ending the strategy next week… timesdispatch.com
…John W. Whitehead, president of the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute, warned Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood in a letter Wednesday that the department’s initiative poses serious threats to the privacy and safety of residents…Over the past two weeks, The Times-Dispatch repeatedly has asked Richmond police to disclose how many doors have been knocked on since the initiative was implemented and to discuss how effective it has been in curbing crime. Officials have not answered those questions…Police Lt. Brian Corrigan, who put the program in place in the four neighborhoods in North Richmond, declined a request to be interviewed… timesdispatch.com
Richmond police are violating residents’ constitutional rights by waking them in the middle of the night with a knock on the door to admonish them for leaving valuables in plain sight in their parked cars, a civil liberties group said Wednesday… ap.org
…This parking problem on the corner of Semmes Avenue across from Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts has existed for many years… richmond.com
…Officers will patrol neighborhood streets between the hours of midnight and 4:00 a.m. looking for any items of value (such as a GPS, music player, or computer) in plain view in a parked car. If they see anything left out, they will match the vehicle to its registered owner. If the owner lives in the neighborhood, midnight shift officers will knock on the front door for an unexpected wake up call… nbc12.com
A local freelance photographer arrested while taking pictures of the Occupy Richmond protest downtown has agreed to perform community service. In exchange, he says, prosecutors say they’ll recommend that his case be dismissed….He was handcuffed after walking into a crosswalk to get a clearer view….”Ian was arrested for trespassing in a public way, which is almost an oxymoron,” says Paul Fletcher, president of the Virginia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists…. styleweekly.com
….Earlier this week, Ava’s mother, Susan Mortensen, was ticketed by Richmond Police and banned from public parks for allowing her daughter to draw on Belle Isle rocks with sidewalk chalk….On Friday afternoon, a small group is gathering in the parking lot across from police headquarters on Grace Street and preparing a sidewalk-chalk protest of their own….styleweekly.com
….Lots of people go to Belle Isle to enjoy the warm weather. That’s what Susan Mortensen said she was doing when she came down with her four year-old daughter and used some sidewalk chalk to draw on some of the rocks….”Using sidewalk chalk to draw some little doodle on a rock is not criminal,” [NBC12 Legal Analyst Steve] Benjamin said…. nbc12.com
….Richmond authorities now agree with Chesterfield police that the Oct. 18 slaying occurred just inside the city, near the Chesterfield line…..But Richmond police said they are not raising their 2011 tally of homicides. That is because authorities have subtracted another killing — the stabbing of Ramoan Cody Tolliver — and reclassified it as a case of self-defense….Barry and Richmond police Maj. Steve Drew said the decision to add one homicide to the books and subtract another was an unrelated coincidence…. timesdispatch.com
Why wait months to agree with Chesterfield?