RICHMOND, Va. -- In the months since Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith announced that his officers foiled a July Fourth mass shooting plot, questions have continued to swirl about exactly what happened behind the scenes and why court records and charges have not aligned with Smith's initial claims about the investigation.
Now, as some members of the department and city council members speak out about their lack of confidence in the chief, CBS 6 has learned Smith stopped one of the lead investigators who worked the mass shooting tip, Detective Michael Kiniry, from receiving a prestigious spot on the FBI RAVE (Richmond Area Violent Enterprise) Task Force. The task force focuses on combating drug and gang related crime.
Local police departments partner with the federal agency to form the task force. RPD now contributes three detectives to the task force, and Smith said they are highly sought-after roles.
In late August, as information regarding the alleged mass shooting plot surfaced that contradicted Smith's claims about the case, a lieutenant approved Detective Kiniry to join the FBI task force. The lieutenant sent a letter to the FBI to alert the agency and said, "The Richmond Police Department is aware and approves."
However, Smith put a stop to the process as soon as he found out. His action came after the chief had continuously and publicly praised the work of the July 4th detectives, even as Smith faced questioning about the validity of his claims.
In a one-on-one interview with CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne, Chief Smith explained he prevented Kiniry from being assigned to the role because the protocol in place for these types of special assignments was not followed.
The policy states that when a vacancy on a task force is considered eligible for recruitment, an announcement must be made department wide. Smith said such an announcement never occurred.
"Inside that policy is a spirit of equity, and I think that is important that every member of the organization who would be eligible to apply to this position, or any position, would have an opportunity," Smith said.
The policy also states that the Chief of Police or a designee must grant approval, but Smith said he was never made aware of Kiniry's assignment.
"Would the lieutenant not count as a designee in this case," Layne asked.
"He would not have been my designee, not unless I gave him the authority, and I never gave him that authority," Smith said. "I never gave anyone authority on that."
When asked how long the RAVE position had been vacant, Smith said it was a new part-time role that had been added to the two already-existing spots.
"Is it typical for these types of assignments to take place without you knowing? I mean, are you in the loop when every single position gets assigned," Layne asked.
"Um, yes. And you've read the policy, and the policy is written just for that," Smith responded.
Smith said he called a meeting to speak to Kiniry's entire chain of command to let them know that the process needed to be done "the right way."
"It was just, 'Hey, what happened?' and just went through the chain of command of where the decision was. And you know, 'This is not how it goes, this is not the policy, and we'll follow the policy.' It was not heated at all. It was it was a very professional conversation," Smith said.
Though some city council members said they heard concerns from officers alleging Smith retaliated against Kiniry, Smith denied the accusations.
"The detectives who worked that case did absolutely great work. What would I be retaliating against? Why would anybody retaliate. There's no retaliation. It's not about retaliation. It's not about me. It's not about any one person. It's about following an equitable policy." Smith said. "My door is open. They can come into my door and talk anytime. If they want to have a conversation, they can. I've done that with a lot of officers."
He added his decision had nothing to do with the July Fourth case whatsoever.
Though questions still remain surrounding that case, as the only evidence that's been made public so far is a seizure of guns and ammunition from a Southside home, Chief Smith said Kiniry's investigative files should be made public once court proceedings finish for the two men accused by police.
"If I remember court procedure correctly, and it's been a while, I think once it's all said and done, at some point in time, that will be open," Smith said.
"And everything will add up and make sense," Layne asked.
"Well, I don't know," Smith responded. "I know what's in the file is in the file, and I know that it will be very eye opening to some, but there could be those who just believe what they want to believe. But I believe that file, it would speak volumes for what I've been saying."
CBS 6 reached out to surrounding law enforcement agencies to find out their policies for special assignments. A spokesperson for Henrico Police said its Chief of Police authorizes every FBI task force role but that other leaders in the chain of command will make recommendations. A spokesperson for Chesterfield Police said its Chief of Police also has final approval on similar assignments.
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