RICHMOND, Va. -- As Richmond city leaders express concerns over the state of public safety in the midst of rising violence and growing police officer vacancies, the Richmond Coalition of Police (RCOP), a union that represents hundreds of sworn personnel, is calling for changes to department leadership.
Some members of Richmond City Council said they've heard complaints from officers about low morale that began during the civil unrest of 2020 and continued under the leadership of Police Chief Gerald Smith.
“There's been morale issues in our police department, I think going on for years now, but we're also hearing about issues within the department which are concerning because we're still struggling to attract and retain police officers," said 4th District Councilor Kristen Nye.
Despite the council recently raising salaries for law enforcement officers and approving collective bargaining, the force is currently down about 150 officers. This time last year, the department was facing just a little over 100 vacancies.
For comparison, the Henrico County Police Department currently has 62 vacancies out of 694 officer positions, but a spokesperson said a majority of those vacancies are due to newly-established roles that were recently added to the force. Chesterfield Police has 25 vacancies out of 558 total full-time sworn positions, but a spokesperson said vacancies are expected to go down next week when a new academy starts.
“The officers are telling me, 'We can’t wait to get out of here,'" said Reva Trammell, 8th District Councilor and the head of the council's Public Safety Committee. “Who would want to come here under this condition with this police chief? He needs to go. I want him gone."
Trammell declared in September she had "no confidence" in Smith after he had a closed-door meeting with the council to discuss public safety procedures in the aftermath of the alleged July 4th mass shooting plot.
In December 2021, RCOP released the results of a survey taken by hundreds of its members. They showed an overwhelming majority of the 261 participants reported low morale under Smith's leadership, did not feel valued as an employee, and strongly considered leaving RPD.
At the time, RCOP called on Chief Smith to resign. Fast forward to October 2022, and the group's position remains the same.
"We've just done an additional survey recently for our members, and there has been no change in our sentiment. Our sentiment is the exact same as last year," said RCOP President Brendan Leavy.
Leavy has not yet released the results of the new survey but said he will invite Smith to meet with the RCOP board to go over them. He said the group currently has about 350 members which account for more than half of RPD's 600 total sworn positions.
"We need a change in the leadership within the Richmond Police Department," Leavy said.
During a one-on-one interview with CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne Thursday, Chief Smith was asked to gauge his relationship with his officers.
"Um, I think it's pretty good. I do have a lot of support with officers and talk to them. I think it's just an occurrence in police departments, and especially since talking to other chiefs, that the morale is just an issue until we can get 2020 behind us 100%," Smith said.
Smith was selected by Mayor Levar Stoney to take over RPD in July of 2020 in the midst of protests and shortly after Stoney had let go two prior chiefs almost back-to-back.
Since then, Smith said he's strived to improve the mood and spirit of his department, but he admitted it's been an uphill battle.
"I know when I came here in 2020, officers, I mean, a lot of them were shocked because this community loved its police officers, and they saw a different side of that," Smith said. "And so, we just need to make sure that officers continue to feel the love from the community."
The chief embarked on several community initiatives following the fallout from his press conference on the alleged July 4th mass shooting plot and said he believes his relationship with the public is improving.
"I think you should come follow me around. Just [Wednesday] at that unfortunate homicide, how many people were actually expressing support in me. I did an interview with one of your reporters, and cars riding by supporting me, just a great deal of support," Smith said.
The homicide investigation Smith referenced where he said he received support was the crime scene involving a teenager who was found dead in a trash can in Fairfield Court Wednesday.
Smith pushed back against the 2021 RCOP announcement, calling it an "interesting survey" and said he never got to see the results.
"I know a great deal of their members did come to me, and they did not feel that way at all," Smith said. "And you know, the members of that organization, some of them still come and talk to me all the time."
However, Leavy said Smith refused to meet with RCOP and did not come to the group's meetings when asked. Smith said he has an "open door policy" and invites officers to speak their minds when they have concerns.
Councilor Nye said she wants to work with her council colleagues and the city administration to ensure a system is in place where officers can safely express their frustrations "in a way they won't be retaliated against."
“If somebody feels like they're being treated unfairly, whether it's in the police force or public works or anywhere in the city of Richmond, they need a place they can go and share their concerns, and I’m not sure there’s a clear path for that right now in city hall," Nye said.
Her sentiment came after Chief Smith denied that his decision to stop the lead detective on the alleged July 4th mass shooting plot case from obtaining a special role with an FBI task force was an act of retaliation.
Nye said Richmond is experiencing "constant safety needs" and having a functional police department is critical. She said the council needs to explore options that will help "get the department back on track" and make sure the "house is in order."
Though Councilor Trammell has called for Smith's removal, the council does not have authority over his position. That decision would ultimately be left to the mayor's office.
