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Mayor questioned about new police chief choice

Posted at 11:22 AM, Feb 12, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-12 13:21:49-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - After announcing the hiring of Ray Tarasovic as Richmond's new chief of police, Mayor Dwight Jones took questions from journalists and citizens who attended Tuesday's announcement - which was streamed live on WTVR.com.

In the first clip, the mayor and new chief addressed their concerns about Richmond's crime statistics - including increases in the homicide and property crime rates.

Also in the first clip, CBS 6 reporter Catie Beck asked the mayor why he thought it was important the city go in a new direction and what he would say to members of Richmond's "faith-based community" who supported former Chief Bryan Norwood.

In the second clip, Mayor Jones answered questions about the process of choosing the new police chief. He defended the decision to not have public meetings about choosing a new chief.

He also did not give a direct answer when asked whether Chief Norwood's recent involvement in the Chris Brown's community service investigation was a factor in the resignation.

In the third clip, the mayor addressed some of the issues that arose during Chief Norwood's tenure and how that will impact his legacy in Richmond.

The mayor also said his team had "conversations" with several candidates for the job.

The mayor stopped taking questions from the media after answering a question about the severance package Chief Norwood would receive.

Click here to visit the Richmond news page on WTVR.com for more on this story.