Podcasts about chief smith

Join us for a powerful and timely conversation on The Lion's Den with Seth as we welcome Phillip Smith, Chief of Police of Evansville, Indiana. In this episode, we'll dive into the current climate between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Chief Smith will share his insights on building trust, fostering transparency, and navigating the challenges officers and residents face in today's society.Don't miss this opportunity to hear a candid discussion on accountability, leadership, and community engagement—from the perspective of a chief on the front lines. If you're ready to take the next step in your personal or professional growth, connect with Seth for 1-on-1 coaching or explore his collection of insightful books. Visit https://seththespeaker.my.canva.site/ for more details and start your journey today. Don't wait—transform your potential into action!seththespeaker.my.canva.site

In Episode 52 of The Chief Exchange Podcast, Alec meets with Chief Smith of Atlanta Fire to discuss the art of operating in gray areas—when information is scarce, and decisions must be made. Chief Smith shares his insights on balancing logic and instinct, staying objective under pressure, and the key strategies he uses during budget season to secure top priorities. Plus, hear his innovative approach to recruitment and his 20-second elevator pitch on why firefighting is a career worth pursuing.

Mayor Maddox joins Chief Smith and Chief Blankley to discuss game day public safety. To stay up-to-date with the City of Tuscaloosa, visit Tuscaloosa.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor.

We had a chat with OPD Chief Eric Smith about crime in Orlando.

OPD Chief Smith talks about his stance on violent crime and what needs to change.

Carl Scott, Richmond Coalition of Police VP, joined Jeff Katz to discuss what's necxt for RPD after Chief Gerald Smith resigned and where the department currently stands immediately after it.

As the third decade of the 21st century approaches, we all find ourselves living in a world we didn’t create and we do not understand. There are too many current challenges to list here, but I suspect many readers and listeners feel a lot of tension about the future. The goal of Charlottesville Community Engagement is to provide a bit of relief in the form of information and context, all with an aim of helping as many people as possible at least try to understand. I’m Sean Tubbs, and that hope is what’s fueled my entire career. Don’t miss an installment or podcast! Sign up! On today’s program:Charlottesville’s Fire Chief gives an update on his efforts to move the Fire Department into the 21st century by playing a major EMS role Dr. Denise Bonds of the Blue Ridge Health District updates City Council on COVID and vaccinations And City Council tells staff to advertise a tax rate increase of ten cents as they build the budget year for fiscal year 2023The first shout-out goes to LEAPWhen you think of romance, you might not immediately think of energy efficiency - but the folks at LEAP think keeping your family comfortable at home is a great way to show you care during the month of love. Your local energy nonprofit wants to make sure you are getting the most out of your home all year round, and LEAP offers FREE home weatherization to income- and age-qualifying residents. If someone in your household is age 60 or older, or you have an annual household income of less than $74,950, you may qualify for a free energy assessment and home energy improvements such as insulation and air sealing. Sign up today to lower your energy bills, increase comfort, and reduce energy waste at home!Charlottesville Pandemic updateAll of today’s program focuses on Council and let’s start with the second thing first, followed by the last thing second, and the first thing last. The director of the Blue Ridge Health District appeared before Charlottesville City Council last night for another update on the pandemic. Dr. Denise Bonds reminded Council there’s been a surge of COVID cases since December that is only just now beginning to recede.“This of course represents omicron, the highly contagious variant that causes thousands and thousands of cases across the United States and really the world,” Dr. Bonds said. Today the Virginia Department of Health reports another 4,689 new cases and the percent positivity has further declined to 19.1 percent. Dr. Bonds said there is still a high transmission risk in the community that’s much higher than at most parts of the pandemic. She recommends people continue to be vigilant. “Even though generally omicron is much milder and we have a large percentage of our population that are vaccinated and thus either weren’t infected or didn’t suffer illness that was as serious, there’s a high number of unvaccinated individuals in our community who are still driving very high hospital numbers,” Dr. Bonds said. Dr. Bonds said this surge also saw increases in cases with children under the age of 11, particularly with vaccines still not being authorized for those under 5 but that may happen in the near future. “However the numbers are really still being driven by adults at this point in time,” Dr. Bonds said. So far, Dr. Bonds said the Omicron subvariant has yet to be found in Virginia. She urges people to continue to get vaccinated.“There have continued to be individuals that get their first vaccination and we’re up by almost a thousand individuals since the last time I spoke with you about a month ago so that’s great!” Dr. Bonds said. Dr. Bonds also said it is crucial that people who have not had their booster dose yet to get it as soon as possible. She also encourages people to upgrade their mask from cloth to at least a surgical or medical mask. Yesterday, the Virginia Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit filed by parents in Chesterfield County against Governor Glenn Youngkin’s revocation of a mask mandate in public schools. Councilor Sena Magill asked Dr. Bonds her opinion.“The CDC definitely recommends that mask use is an important mitigation strategy for both adults and children in school,” Dr. Bonds said. “I no longer have school age children but if I did have school age children I would have them wear masks in school.” Dr. Bonds said the long-term ramifications of a COVID infection are not yet known because even after nearly two years of a pandemic, the virus is still novel. For a list of places where you can get a vaccine, visit the Blue Ridge Health District website. Council directs staff on tax rate So far this year, Council has had two discussions of the budget for the next fiscal year but they gave their first significant direction Monday night. At their work session last Thursday, Council were told they needed to decide whether they wanted to advertise an increase in the tax rate above 95 cents per $100 of assessed value. For all of that discussion, go back to Saturday’s installment of this newsletter. Senior Budget Analyst Krisy Hammill said that a five-cent increase in the tax rate would not be enough to cover the additional debt service for a capital improvement plan that includes $75 million for renovations to Buford Middle School. Council also wants to honor the goal of putting $10 million toward affordable housing initiative for at least ten years. “In actuality, the five-cent tax increase does not afford the $75 million addition,” Hammill said. Hammill showed a variety of different scenarios, but said five-cents are all that is needed to be dedicated to capital. “Ten cents we don’t need,” Hammill said. “Seven isn’t quite there but seven and a half is a little more than we need so I think we’re somewhere seven and eight cents to comfortably cover $75 million.” The update to Council was not on the agenda for the meeting but was delivered during the report from the Interim City Manager. (February 7 presentation)Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall said comparing tax rates doesn’t tell the whole picture. For instance, Roanoke has a tax rate of $1.22 per assessed value, but there’s a reason. “The average median house cost is $225,000 so when you think of that and a $1.22 tax rate, it’s going to hit a little different than in Loudoun County, where the average median home value is $625,000,” Marshall said. This year, residential assessments went up 11.7 percent and 67 households lost the ability to apply for tax relief because they now exceed the $375,000 cap. The city would have to ask the General Assembly for a charter amendment to increase that amount. Hammill showed a slide that depicted how much of a tax increase would occur. For instance, a hypothetical property assessed at $300,000 paid $3,487 in 2021. That would increase to $3,895 in 2022 without a tax increase. That would increase to $4,305 in 2022 with a ten cent tax increase. Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders said a ten cent tax increase would also allow more funding for the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund to meet the affordable housing fund, a local match to extend a federal grant for firefighters (see below) and more. That had the support of Vice Mayor Juandiego Wade.“I think that at least even though we may not do the whole ten cents to give the staff direction tonight at least to go with that so we know we can’t go higher but we can certainly go lower,” Wade said. Councilor Michael Payne said he would support that rate. “We’re not even having a serious conversation until you begin with a ten cent real estate tax increase because otherwise it is not affordable,” Payne said. “I’m comfortable with advertising that at the rate to start out conversation but I still don’t think that gets us to a point where we are having a realistic conversation about the state of our budget.”Mayor Lloyd Snook said he was concerned about raising the property tax rate this year because of the assessment increase, but called Charlottesville undertaxed. He said he wanted to increase a half-percent raise in the meals tax. That would yield just over $1.25 million according to staff projections. “At meals tax, we are at the moment I believe just a little on the low side and that may give us a little more than a million plus a year,” Snook said. Councilor Brian Pinkston said he supported the advertisement of ten cents.“I’m not personally convinced yet that we need to raise it by a dime,” Pinkston said. “Maybe we do. Maybe it’s seven and a half cents. I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just a nickel but for me it is just for the purposes of this conversation tonight is the advertisement piece.” Councilor Sena Magill took ownership.“I support advertising it,” Magill said. “It was my idea.” With that, the recommendation was officially made and check the classified section of the Daily Progress this weekend. The unscheduled conversation took an hour. At this point in mind, do remember that advertising a tax rate is not the same as adopting one. There are a lot more variables that may come into play between now and April. Some other budget items that were brought up include the potential of using $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay back the general fund for the use of FY21 surplus money to pay COVID-related bonuses to employees. The school system is also hoping to use up to $8 million in ARPA funding toward school infrastructure above and beyond school reconfiguration. “That’s still a number which is not in any of the scenarios that I presented to you,” Hammill said. Hammill said the budget staff is anticipating a surplus in FY22 as well as in previous years. “A lot of our big revenues, they are performing better than we had originally projected as we continue to recover from COVID,” Hammill said. Shout out to the Sisters Project Peru:In today’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement, this Friday an art auction will be held at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club to help raise funds for a sustainable medical clinic in rural Peru. The Sisters Project Peru was created to increase access to to healthcare in order to improve quality of life and empower women in Huacahuasi, a rural village in the Sacred Valley of Peru. The art auction will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with light refreshment and live music. Covid protocol is in effect and masks are required. Learn more at SistersProjectPeru.com. Registration in advance is required. Fire Chief Smith presents 21st century vision for the Charlottesville Fire DepartmentIn the early part of the City Council meeting, Fire Chief Hezedean Smith has a long conversation with the five-elected officials. Smith has been in the position since December 2020 and he wanted to reflect on the time so far. “There’s been a lot of tragedy within our community and fortunately our firefighters, they remain committed in terms of serving the community to their fullest, in spite of COVID and in spite of all the other challenges that they face,” Smith said. Last year, a structure fire on Cherry Avenue killed two people, the first fatalities from a fire since 2010. Smith said another challenge was the fire on January 13 at the Charlottesville Towers apartment complex in North Downtown. No one was killed, but many residents were displaced and returned to smoke-damaged units. “We’re committed and we’re embracing the forces that are impacting the 21st century fire and emergency services in our community, certainly in alignment with what’s going on across the United States, “ Smith said. “Charlottesville is no stranger to multiple all-hazards type of incidents that we have to be prepared to respond to.” During his time, the Fire Department has adopted a strategic plan which is “employee-driven.” Chief Smith said the goal is to become a “21st century fire service” as defined by a white paper issued by the Center for Public Safety Excellence. (read the white paper) (EMS Agenda 2050)“And alongside that, there’s an EMS agenda for the future which kind of looks at how you should prepare yourselves now as we move forward into the future and what are the elements related to an EMS system?”  Smith asked. “Fortunately for us we are a fire-based EMS system service model which is a little bit different than it was years ago when we were just focused only on fire. We are an all-hazards department.”Before Smith arrived, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Charlottesville a nearly $3.5 million grant under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program. That allowed the fire department to hire 15 additional personnel. Last year the dispatch system was changed in order to speed up response times. “About eight minutes, ideally,” Smith said. “That’s the framework that we have established and ultimately we have demonstrated through a GIS analysis to confirm that we should be able to arrive at an incident within that period of time.” That dispatch system also matches the system used by Albemarle County in order to help regional cooperation and mutual aid. “And we are just basically trying to align our protocols and our response model to meet the needs of our community so at any one time we know where all of our units are located in the city,” Smith said. Smith said that later this month the Fire Department will release an app called PulsePoint to alert people to others who are having cardiac arrests nearby in the hopes of getting cardio-pulmonary resuscitation happening as early as possible. “We provide CPR training, we identify neighborhoods that are at risk, and education them on proper living and things of that sort,” Smith said. “It’s not just about running with lights and sirens to medical calls and car accidents and things of that nature. It’s actually becoming more engaged in our community and educating our community and hopefully they can recognize early signs and symptoms of strokes, heart attacks, and things of that sort.”Smith said data shows that the 10th and Page neighborhood in particular is first in cardiac arrests and third in diabetic emergencies.  Last year, representatives from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS) complained to Council that the new dispatch system shuts them out of service calls. Smith said he has since met with their chief and other top officials and said they will play a role in the future. “One of their goals, goal 3, looks at mobile integrated health, exploring roles of the providers with mental health,” Smith said. “CARS’ community involvement, CPR training, stop-the-bleed training, all of those things are of essence for us,” Smith said. Smith’s appearance before Council came at the same time the budget for FY23 is being put together, including the five-year capital plan. The draft budget shows an additional spending of $1.2 million for a replacement for the bypass fire station, for a total of $4.2 million in authorization for bonds that have not yet been issued. Smith hopes Council will continue to support this expenditure and consider others in the future. “It’s dilapidated, it’s sad,” Chief Smith said. “I don’t know if you’ve been in there but it’s unfortunate that our firefighters have to live there. Ultimately the Ridge Street fire station also has to be on the roadmap as well because that is just as old if not older with cracks in the wall that we’ve been monitoring for a number of years.”The Ridge Street station was built in 1959. The bypass station was built in 1950, according to the city’s property records. Senior Budget Analyst Krisy Hammill said that additional money should fully fund the project. Chief Smith also said firefighters also have to be paid more and said they are not making as much as those in Albemarle. “I am pleading with you to support our firefighters because it ties in with retention, it ties in with recruitment, it ties in with their families,” Smith said. “I can probably count on one hand how many of them live in the city of Charlottesville. They travel for hours sometime to come and serve this community.” Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Today's Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Rivanna Conservation Alliance. What are you doing on September 25? That's the day when RCA staff and volunteers will spend the day at the second annual Rivanna River Round-Up, a community watershed clean-up event. Last year, nearly a hundred people helped remove sixty large bags of trash from waterways that feed into the Rivanna as well as over 120 discarded tires. The Rivanna Conservation Alliance will also accept specific areas that you might want to clean as part of the Round-Up. More information as well as registration can be found at rivannariver.org.On today’s show:Charlottesville Fire Chief Hezedean Smith explains changes to the EMS dispatch system to City Council UVA’s new hotel will have a rooftop bar The area’s regional planning body will be run a familiar face The COVID-19 pandemic continues with another 3,737 cases reported today by the Virginia Department of Health. In the past seven days there have been another 239 fatalities reported in Virginia. The seven-day testing positivity has fallen to 9.8 percent from 10.5 percent a week ago. In the Blue Ridge Health District, there are another 112 cases reported today and the percent positivity is at 7.1 percent. There have been four more fatalities reported since the last edition of this newsletter on September 16, 2021. The Blue Ridge Health District will hold a virtual town hall on the pandemic tonight at 7 p.m. If you have questions, you can send them in advance when you register to be on the Zoom call. (register)The person who has been serving as the interim director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District has been given the job on a permanent basis. Christine Jacobs has been serving in the position since February and was hired after an extensive search. Jacobs took over the position from Chip Boyles who has been serving as Charlottesville City Manager. The TJPDC is a regional planning body that covers the city and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson. When the University of Virginia’s new hotel and conference center opens on Ivy Road, there will be a rooftop bar. The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Visitors will meet Thursday to approve a change to the design for the six-story structure which is part of the Emmet/Ivy Corridor. Another future building is the Institute of Democracy and the Committee will consider design guidelines for that structure as well as a renaming proposal to the Karsh Institute of Democracy. They’ll also consider a proposal to name a new McIntire School building Shumway Hall and will consider the expansion of the Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital at the  Fontaine Research Park. The latter had been originally proposed as a new structure at the North Fork Research Park, but the decision was made to expand in place. “The proposed project will renovate and update nearly 50,000 SF in the existing hospital and construct a 16,400 SF addition, allowing the hospital to convert from 50 beds in semi-private rooms to 60 beds in private rooms,” reads the staff report for the item. (meeting packet)In today's subscriber-fueled public service announcement: Lovers of used books rejoice! The Friends of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library will resume the tradition of their annual Fall Book Sale this October 2nd through October 10 at a new location! The Friends of the Library sale will take place at Albemarle Square Shopping Center from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. Half-price days on October 9 and October 10. Questions? Visit jmrlfriends.org for more information.Charlottesville Fire Chief Hezedean Smith has been on the job nearly ten months and he had the opportunity Monday to talk about the department as well as to explain changes to the way the fire department dispatches ambulances. Earlier this month, representatives from the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad critiqued the new “proximity dispatch” system. (Story from September 8, 2021)“I’m appreciative of the many years of contributions from CARS for over 60 years and for our Fire Department for over 165 years and agree that working together collaboratively, we’ll be able to create a model system framework in this region based on 21st century concepts and strategies,” Smith said. In this community, emergency calls are routed through the Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle Emergency Communications Center. Smith said there are initiatives underway to make the system more efficient.“This medical priority dispatch system will replace an almost 25 or 30 year old system that’s being currently used to triage calls that are sometimes not necessarily 100 percent accurate because it requires on information from the 9-1-1 caller,” Smith said.Smith said EMS services across the nation are working to implement something called EMS Agenda 2050 which seeks to position public safety calls as people-centered. “It talks about how EMS personnel must have immediate access to resources that they need for patients including health care providers, social services, and other community resources,” Smith said. In his tenure, Smith said he has realigned the command structure of the Fire Department to better meet those goals and others. One of those is the Neighborhood Risk Reduction program which seeks to inform residents about the specific hazards that face specific demographics and geographic areas.  A StoryMap on this program is available online:“So for example if you want to look at 10th and Page, what’s going on in 10th and Page, you can see what the community profile looks like and this is a compilation of various data sources that are out there,” Smith said. “This neighborhood is first in cardiac arrests. Third for structure fires, diabetic emergencies, cardiac emergencies, falls.” Smith said knowing that information can help with preparations and community outreach. As it relates to the dispatch system, Smith said everyone wants a system that works but there are disagreements about whether the recent change to the proximity dispatch system has been beneficial. Chief Smith said he is in frequent conversations with Albemarle Fire and Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston. “Chief Eggleston and I have the same vision for this system delivery in this region so we have conversations about what the future should look like in this system,” Smith said. Smith said while he intends to collaborate with CARS but if they cannot meet a desired level of service, the city will provide the service instead with professional crews whose salaries are covered by tax dollars. At issue is how to get service calls to get to the scene more quickly with a travel time target of four minutes. Also at issue is the difference between Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS). Here’s Deputy Chief Mike Rogers with an explanation. “The basic life support level is emergency medical technician basic,” Rogers said. “That’s a requisite for the jobs that the firefighters here at the Charlottesville Fire Department have and that’s the basic level. Bleeding wound care, CPR to the basic life support level, basic anatomy and physiology of being able to take care of the patient.” Advanced Life Support requires more training to allow care at a trauma level. “And essentially that allows the EMT to begin to place IV’s, give some limited amounts of medication,” Rogers said. Chief Smith said the system that has been in place is due for a replacement to increase the chances of a patients’ survival by ensuring all calls have the chance of receiving ALS. “The triage protocols that are in place are greater than 20 years old so the move to a 21st century protocol and electronic framework is underway currently,” Smith said. “Oftentimes the basic life support if all you have is an EMT who cannot execute any advanced skills, that patient does not have getting anything done pre-hospital unless there’s a call for the Fire Department to come and provide ALC which oftentimes delays care even more.”The proximity dispatch system uses algorithms to dispatch calls using automatic vehicle localities and the global positioning system. Chief Smith acknowledges that that the system has caused concerns, but also notes that Albemarle County initiated proximity dispatch in recent years. He also presented evidence that shows how the system is working to increase response times in some neighborhoods. In all, he gave an hour-long lecture that is a must-view for anyone interested in this topic. (watch on BoxCast)During his hour-long presentation, Chief Smith said that “what can be measured can be improved.” “Seventy-one percent of the time in FY21, the first arriving CARS unit on the scene met the performance benchmark for turnout and time,” Smith said. “Not bad. Actually decent! But there’s opportunities for improvement.”However, CARS’ performance on more advanced calls were much lower. Chief Smith said CARS met these calls on time ten percent in FY21. But here’s where the need for better metrics comes in.“The system is designed in a way that the numbers for ALS versus BLS are not necessarily clearly defined because the protocols vary in how the system was set up but essentially there are opportunities for improvement,” Smith said. Smith said the Charlottesville Fire Department’s results on more advanced calls could also use improvement. “Here we have a 58 percent metric that we’re not doing well,” Smith said. “There’s opportunities for improvement here for CFD as well,” Smith said. During the public comment period, UVA trauma surgeon Forest Calland took the opportunity to ask Smith a series of questions and to question the idea of sending ALS units to as many calls as possible. “There’s just simply no evidence pointing to the benefit of having response teams under four minutes for BLS calls and there’s no evidence that sending paramedics to BLS calls is of any benefit,” Dr. Calland said. Last year, Charlottesville a federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hire additional firefighters. Dr. Calland said he is concerned by prioritizing ALScalls, the city will lose the financial benefit of volunteer labor. “Your system is going to cost $2.5 million additional per year once your grant runs out,” Calland said. “Is the City Council prepared to take this money out of the taxpayers’ pockets when CARS has been providing this service for free for the last 50 years?”Chief Smith said his presentation was to prepare for the future, and not debate the past. In addressing the questions, he said the SAFER grant was to ensure firefighting capacity and he acknowledged a need to address capacity issues. “I will not be satisfied having insufficient firefighters on the fireground and potentially risking losing a firefighter,” Smith said. “Ultimately the staffing limits will have to be addressed.”Chief Smith said he would be willing to meet with CARS officials when the time is appropriate. “But the idea is to have a conversation because what we have done for the last 60 years or what we’ve done for the last 165, if we continue to do that I don’t think we will move forward with meeting the needs of this community,” Smith said. Charlottesville’s arrangement with CARS is in a memorandum of understanding that has both an operational and a budgetary component. City Attorney Lisa Robertson had suggested that Chief Smith not meet with CARS management while disputes were ironed out.“I think the two issues were conflating and they need to be separate,” Robertson said. “The financial relates to the other but they’re two separate issues. In both issues, both the city manager and the fire chief will have to sit down with CARS and work through both sets of issues. It has absolutely not ever been by intention to tell anyone that you can’t sit down and talk to each other because of legal issues. These are almost purely operational and financial issues.”If you want to know about how emergency services operates in the area do take a look or listen to the whole discussion. (watch on BoxCast)Thanks for listening! Please forward this on to others, and please ask questions in the comment section below! This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign, an initiative that wants you to grow native plants in yards, farms, public spaces and gardens in the northern Piedmont. Native plants provide habitat, food sources for wildlife, ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change, and clean water.  Start at the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page and tell them Lonnie Murray sent you! On today’s show:Charlottesville’s Fire Department releases an annual report and the chief defends critiques of a new dispatch system City Council discusses the firing of Police Chief RaShall Brackney An incumbent drops out of the race for Charlottesville City Council Nikuyah Walker is withdrawing from the 2021 election and will be a one-term City Councilor. Walker made the announcement in a Facebook post this morning in which she stated that another Black candidate in the race is being used by the Democratic Party. She said racism she experienced at last night’s City Council meeting was “the final straw.” In the Facebook post, Walker blasted Council for being advocates of white power and called for reform of the city’s city-manager form of government. More on that at the end of today’s newsletter. Walker has so far raised no money during the campaign process. Democrats Brian Pinkston and Juandiego Wade have raised about $70,000 each. Independent Yas Washington has raised $315. The next campaign finance report is due next Wednesday. (VPAP data)The Virginia Department of Health reports another 4,474 new cases of COVID today, with a seven day average of 3,364. There have been 406 deaths since August 9. The seven-day percent positivity has decreased to 10. In the Blue Ridge Health District, there are another 92 cases reported today. There have been a total of 239 fatalities in the district with 146 of them reported in the current calendar year. Those seeking to file new unemployment claims in Virginia will now have to wait a week after enrolling with the Virginia Employment Commission.  The VEC issued a release today to notify people that a temporary suspension of “Waiting Week” first made at the beginning of the pandemic is now over. “In March 2020, Governor Ralph Northam waived the waiting week policy for all Virginia UI claimants as part of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency declaration,” states the release. “The reinstatement coincides with the end of temporary Federal benefit programs on September 4, 2021.”For more on Waiting Week, visit the VEC’s website.The Charlottesville Fire Department has released its annual report for the fiscal year that ended on June 2021. In the past year there is a new chief in Hezedean Smith, recruited 22 new firefighters, and boosted work in community risk reduction. There are 114 total employees in the fire department, including six civilians. There were 5,717 calls for service, with 2,105 of those for fire calls and 3,612 medical calls. Last week, the fire department issued a press release announcing a process change made in July called “proximity dispatch” where automatic vehicle locators and the global positioning system are used.  Council will have a work session on this change on September 20. “When an emergency prompts a 911 call, the region's Emergency Communications Center activates an automated process that immediately finds the closest emergency resources,” reads the release. “Based on the proximity of the vehicles and the city's roadway network, the emergency communication center dispatches the closest units.” At last night’s City Council, Dr. Forest Calland spoke out in objection to the new system. He’s a trauma surgeon at the University of Virginia Health system concerned that Charlottesville - Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS) units are not being used efficiently. “The system that has been designed and implemented is not well-conceived,” Dr. Calland said. “Survival in an urban EMS system is inversely proportional to the number of paramedics that are deployed out in the city.” Later on in the meeting, CARS chief Virginia Leavell gave a specific example of how the new system is not working. There are a lot of acronyms in this soundbite to explain first. ALS stands for Advanced Life Support and offers advanced care for critical patients. BLS stands for basic life support. “On July 27, two fire engines and a CARS BLS ambulance were dispatched to an ALS level chest pain call because [Charlottesville Fire Department]’s ALS unit was on a BLS call and unavailable,” Leavell said. “CARS had three BLS ambulances in service and available within 1.2 miles of that BLS call at the time of dispatch.” Chief Leavell said CARS should be handling those basic calls. “The new dispatch protocol is an ineffective system in the city,” Leavell said. “It has not resulted in improved patient care. In fact it puts those at the highest risk in jeopardy.”Leavell said she has attempted to meet with Fire Chief Smith but has not been able to do so. In this year’s budget cycle as well as the last, Leavell and others made the claim that the fire department was not holding up its end of a memorandum of agreement related to funding. “I raised the concern last year that I thought what was happening last year to the rescue squad and their budget was grossly unfair to them,” Snook said. “I’m concerned that this year —I don’t know the details but I would like to know more — I’m concerned that we appeared to be headed toward a situation where the present EMS providers to not value the contributions of the rescue squad, which has really been a beloved institution in this town for many, many years.” Remember that quote. We’re going to need it later on. Later on in the meeting, Chief Smith was asked to comment. “Ultimately the enhancements that have been adopted are appropriate for the ten square miles in a city and it is used in other regions that provide EMS and fire services,” Smith said. “We don’t have to look far as it relates to proximity dispatch. Albemarle County right next to us has implemented proximity dispatch since 2016 or 2017. Proximity dispatch ensures that our residents and visitors get the closest appropriately staffed ambulance and or first response vehicles based on established national standards and best practices.” Smith said the changes have lowered response times to the Tenth and Page neighborhood. The conversation on September 20 will shed more light on what may become a legal issue. City Attorney Lisa Robertson said a meeting was to have been held between Chief Smith and CARS, but a string of correspondence from CARS attorney led to that being delayed. Thanks for reading Charlottesville Community Engagement. In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out. A concerned Charlottesville parent wants to make sure the community participates in the Middle School Reconfiguration process that is currently underway. After years of discussion, concrete plans are being put forward. You can learn more and contribute at the City of Charlottesville Schools/VMDOs information page at charlottesvilleschools.org/facilities.The Charlottesville City Council meeting on September 7, 2021 was dominated by one of its members’ opposition to the termination on September 1 of former Police Chief RaShall Brackney. No official explanation has been given. Council selects one of its own every two years to serve as Mayor, a position held since January 2018 by Nikuyah Walker. At the beginning of the meeting, a fellow Councilor requested to add an item for discussion that was not previously on the agenda. “Madam Mayor, I would like to ask to add one thing to the agenda,” said Councilor Lloyd Snook. “It would be to move to add the discussion of an appointment of an acting [Americans with Disabilities Act] coordinator.”“And I would like to also request to add the discussion of the termination of the police chief,” Walker said. Snooks’ request was granted on a unanimous vote, but Walker could not get a second to add her discussion to the official agenda. But her opposition would be felt throughout the entire meeting including a few minutes later when she used the Proclamations section of the meeting to thank Brackney for her three years of service to Charlottesville. “I would just like to thank Chief Brackney for her leadership and apologize on behalf of the city for a termination that has tarnished her reputation when she was doing exactly as someone who sat around a table to hire her and was able to participate in that democratic process which as apparently has changed,” Walker said. The powers of City Council are outlined in Chapter 2, Article II of the Charlottesville city code and further detailed in the City Charter. Council appoints a city manager to serve as an executive, and also appoints a finance director and a clerk. Council plays no official role in selecting a police chief.“All departments of city government, including the fire department and police department, shall be under the general supervision of the city manager,” reads Section 5.01 of the charter. The charter is also clear that all Councilors have the same powers. “The mayor, or vice-mayor when performing the duties of the mayor, shall be entitled to a vote on all questions as any other councilor, but in no case shall they be entitled to a second vote on any question,” reads a portion of Section 9. Brackney terminated on September 1City Manager Chip Boyles opted to terminate Brackney’s contract on September 1, 2021 and immediately placed her on administrative leave through November 1, the end of a 90-day period of notification. (read the press release)During the proclamations period, Walker took nearly nine minutes to talk about Brackney’s firing, and to tell future employers that she was treated poorly. She spoke of the need to address systemic racism and to tell Council why the termination was the wrong choice. None of the other Councilors responded and the body moved on to the consent agenda, which Walker voted against. The meeting proceeded with updates from City Manager Chip Boyles. “Staff has developed a formal application process to create roadside memorials along certain city streets for family members of those fatally injured in auto accidents,” Boyles said. “This program should be available by October 1.” Then Council moved on to one of two public comment periods known as Community Matters, where several members addressed the issue. Attorney Jeff Fogel called Council rude for not responding to complaints the firing. “We expect an answer,” Fogel said. “If you meet me on the street and ask me a question on the street, dammit I’m going to answer it? You got a problem? Get off the Council.” Melvin Burruss thanked Walker for speaking out about the firing, and said it was all based on hearsay related to an informal survey conducted by the Police Benevolent Association. An unsigned statement in response to the survey was posted on the city’s website on August 20 shortly after 5 p.m on a Friday. Addressing Boyles, Burruss accused Councilor Snook of acting to remove the chief.“I’m really disappointed there wasn’t an investigation,” Burruss said. “Snook counseled you and he was part of it with you on the termination. You didn’t go to the Council and discuss it with all of them because they are acting… if you did, they are acting kind of ‘I don’t know what happened.’ Or that’s the conveyance they are giving to us. You should do better than that, Chip. We thought better of you when you took over this position.”When it was Council’s turn to speak, Snook wanted to respond why he did not second Walker’s desire to place Brackney’s termination on the record. Virginia’s open meetings law allows for elected bodies to discuss personnel in closed session. (code)“I asked the question when we were in closed session what would be the ground rules if we did so,” Snook said. “Nobody could answer. I am concerned that if we have a public discussion without any ground rules, recognizing that there are libel, slander, other procedural issues that may come up, that we’re opening ourselves up for more problems and I just don’t know what the ground rules are.”Councilor Michael Payne said the timing of the firing created doubt in the minds of the community. “What are we going to do to ensure and ensure for the public that we do not go backwards on reform and that is a real concern,” Payne said. “Has this sent a signal that it is time to go back to the old ways of doing things? I desperately hope that it’s not.”Payne said city leadership must demonstrate that Brackney’s firing was not motivated by a sense that reform was going too far in the department. Councilor Heather Hill said she also did not feel comfortable discussing the matter in public.“These are personnel discussions and I am really sensitive to how much we will discuss publicly at this time without really understanding what the scope of that discussion would be,” Hill said. Vice Mayor Sena Magill did not comment. In rebuttal, Walker took issue with the comment Councilor Snook made about the Charlottesville - Albemarle Rescue Squad. “You used the words ‘grossly unfair’,” Walker said. “So maybe you don’t know how to monitor yourself but that would be a good time to do that. You would need to find out more information without critiquing employees publicly when you and Councilor Hill already have a lot of information because you’ve been meeting with them.” To be clear, Snook did not mention the names of any employees of the fire department.  Council is to have a work session on these issues. Walker said she hoped the process would be fair. But back to the termination. Walker noted that Dr. Brackney was on the call and willing to have a public conversation. “And so if there’s any questions about whether there is a willingness to have that conversation and if it’s about personnel, then we can ask her that question,” Walker said.“It would also involve personnel discussions of other people than Chief Brackney,” Snook said. “Well the other people were not terminated,” Walker said. “Doesn’t matter, “ Snook said. “They still have rights to confidentiality that we are bound legally to respect.” In another back and forth, Walker pressed Hill on whether she was involved in the decision to terminate Brackney. “I have not influenced this process,” Hill said. “I found at the same time at the rest of this Council. That decision has been made. Do I support that decision? I do.”Walker said the time has come for reform of the way Charlottesville is governed. “I know there’s been a lot of discussion about one-fifth means, and I know there’s been a lot of confusion about the fact that I’m a strong Black woman and people don’t like that,” Walker said. Walker said the city manager position should be elected.“Not because I see myself in the position,” Walker said. “But because of the power of that position. I hope the community is understanding that while that is not something that today, this is your community and deciding whether you want someone who doesn’t have to answer your questions to be able to make a decision this important behind closed doors and never answer.”The last time the topic of elections came up was in 2004 when an election study task force was commissioned. Review the results here.Walker asked each Councilor to say if they supported the decision. Vice Mayor Magill went on the record.“I feel that this is a decision of the City Manager, and we hired the City Manager and this is his job,” Magill said. “It is his job to run the city under our overarching policies. I feel like he talks to us, I feel he communicates with us and fundamentally this is his decision and I’m behind him on it, period.”Walker accused the rest of the Council of speaking with Boyles before the termination. “Mayor Walker, one of your fundamental premises is correct,” Snook said. “I have never recommended to Mr. Boyles that he fire Chief Brackney and I’ve told you that.” Walker has more questionsAfter that, Council moved on to other business, business we’ll cover in a future newsletter. After that business concluded, Walker had several questions about what happened with the police chief. Some dealt with comments made by Bellamy Brown, the chair of the Police Civilian Review Board, related to the Police Benevolent Association survey. “The August 20th press release was also unsigned and that was a concern, where people thought this was something the chief forced out,” Walker said. “I would like a public response to who worked on that survey and why their name was left off of it. Specifically, for the city manager. Why wasn’t your name on it?”Walker also wanted to know when the decision was made to place Chief Brackney on leave. Walker also wants to know if Assistant Chief James Mooney will receive special dispensation after rescinding his retirement in order to lead the department in the interim. In the second public comment period at the end of the meeting, Michael Wells of the Central Virginia Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association thanked Boyles for terminating Brackney. “Unfortunately for Dr. Brackney, the Police Benevolent Association climate survey is largely focused not on policy but internal procedural justice issues,” Wells said. “I just want to tell you guys that you have a real issue in Charlottesville City. You have a few people that speak up all the time and those people garner your attention all the time. Now I’m going to be one of those people. Because I’m involved, I want to be involved. I want the city to have a good chief. I wish it had worked out with Dr. Brackney but it did not.”When he was done, Walker took the opportunity to question Wells. That exchange is fully documented in the audio version of this newsletter. Here is some of it:Walker: “Do you think that internal procedural justice is important than healing the wrongs that have been done by policing in this community?” Wells: “I think if you want your police officers to take on other policies and procedures that you have to have buy-in from them.”Walker: “So, 21st century reform, you think our focus should be getting buy-in from police officers?”Wells: “I think your focus should be safe streets because about every other night you have shootings now, so I think your focus needs to be on supporting your officers.”Walker: “So you think throughout the history of policing that there hasn’t been a need for reform?” Wells: “No, I think it’s important for officers to have confidence in their command in order to be most effective, and effective officers are what you need and deserve… you can’t afford a police department with limitless internal distractions and non-existent morale. There’s work to be done.”Walker: “They surveys talked about the reform was causing that low [morale].”Wells: “No, you’re wrong. You’re wrong. You’re wrong. How long have you been a cop?”Walker: “I’m telling you what I read. Your survey also said that both the citizens of the community and the command were a problem.”Wells: “That’s right. They need support from the community…. the community is what’s most important and that means everyone, every race and color and not just Black and brown. Everyone.”Walker: “So the community that’s most affected by policing practices, you don’t believe…”Wells: “Where are your facts about racist policing? Where is that? Provide it?”At this point, a report on 21st Century Policing came up. Have you read it? Here’s a link to a 36-page document with its results. (report)Another resource that was not discussed was the Disproportionate Minority Contact report from January 2020. (report)Walker: “Why did President Obama institute that task force?”Wells: “I think we know why.”Walker: “Tell me!”Wells: “Good day, Mayor.”Walker then addressed Council. “That’s what you just signed on for and you all should be ashamed because as I told you in closed session, they’re not coming for your kids.” Walker said. “They’re not going to target you.”To conclude today, I want to draw your attention to legislation that passed the General Assembly in a special session held in the summer of 2020. Localities in Virginia are subdivisions of the state government. Legislation in that session included:Officers are now required to intervene if they see a fellow officer using excessive force Law enforcement agencies are no longer allowed to purchase surplus military gearPolice civilian review boards received additional oversight powers Neck restraints are explicitly banned Attorney general obtained more power to pursue civil suits against law-enforcement officersDepartment of Criminal Justice required to add implicit bias training to uniform curriculum for sworn officerCreation of the Marcus Alert system to create reform of how government first-responders operate in mental health crisesSome of this legislation was discussed in the pilot episode of a new program on Radio IQ that I helped produce. William Fralin moderates a discussion of police use of force with guests Claire Gastañaga, formerly of the Virginia ACLU, and Chief Maggie DeBoard, of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. Take a listen.What’s next in Charlottesville? Not sure. As you can hear in this newsletter, the community faces a lot of problems. This newsletter intends to try to track as much of it as I can and I appreciate your reading and listening. I do not know the answers and my role is never to tell you what to think. Thanks for reading. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

This week on the Streetwise podcast we discuss being totally fine, enjoy readings of a few recent magazine stories, and vibe to The Rainmakers' track "Let My People Go-Go."Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, editor in chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. Subscribe to the Streetwise newsletter, a weekly meditation on Kansas City news and events.Jason Klamm read our magazine story. Thanks to Jason Beers for our theme song, “One Kicker.” Our editor is Terence Wiggins.

Good morning, RVA! It's 70 °F, and it looks rainy out there, y'all. You can continue to expect a chance of rain, on and off, for most of the day. Saturday and Sunday, though, look beautiful if rather hot. This weekend, enjoy some time outside, stay hydrated, and get some rest.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 229, 31, and 9.1, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 28.7 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 7.3; Henrico: 5.9, and Chesterfield: 15.6). Since this pandemic began, 1,329 people have died in the Richmond region. 43.8%, 54.8%, and 51.1% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Here's this week's stacked chart of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and you can, finally, really, totally, see a drop off in COVID-19-related deaths across the state. These are truly low numbers that we haven't seen since last July. Now, with the power of a ton of folks being vaccinated, I'm hoping we'll see those number fall even lower and stay there.Speaking of the power of vaccines! I know that's a lot of numbers up there to throw at you before you've had a sufficient amount of coffee, but I do want to point out that both Henrico and Chesterfield now have more than 50% of their population with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Possibly related, or at least worth bringing up in that conversation, Sabrina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on the low vaccine uptake among Black Richmonders who, at this point, make up the largest share of positive COVID-19 cases—75% of the city's cases from April to May. It's complicated stuff why a person may or may not choose to get vaccinated, and I encourage you to tap that link and read through some of the reasons.Whittney Evans at VPM scored an interview with Richmond Police's Chief Smith, which you should definitely read in its entirety. Actually, give the audio at the top of the page a listen so you can get a feel for the tone, which sounds a lot less defensive than the text reads. Evans asks if RPD has made any new policy changes since last summer's protests, to which Chief Smith responds: “A few…You're gonna have to give me a chance to go back and pull some of those. We changed the chemical munitions policy. The way chemical munitions are used and when they are used…You're asking very specific questions that you did not prepare me to go get—I would have to get the policy.” I have a lot of thoughts on that, both policywise and PRwise. Mostly about that latter though: The Chief is the face of the Police Department and one of the top four or five public figures in the entire City. Part of that job is being prepared, taking interviews, and building trust with the public. Again, please listen to the audio to get a feel for the Chief's tone—but that you need the audio to clarify these pretty bad quotes is not great. I'm thankful that VPM decided to include the audio (and RPD should be, too).The RTD's Michael Phillips reports that the Washington Football Team will bring its summer training camp back to Richmond, but with one big change: “the city will not be asked to make a $500,000 contribution to the team for its appearance. Instead, the team will rent out the Leigh Street facility for the week at a cost of $100,000.” Not having to pay the richest NFL team in the country, but having them pay us seems like the right order of things.Mike Platania reports in Richmond BizSense that Leek & Thistle will open down in the Bottom this weekend. This spot will sell mostly frozen to-go meals that you reheat at home, and it's another one of those pandemic-inspired changes that I'm interested to see if/how it sticks around. For whatever reason, maybe a year of not going to restaurants, but picking up a frozen meal seems way more appealing to me now than it did in 2019.This is an actual headline in the actual New York Times newspaper website: “U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alien Technology in Flying Objects, but Can't Rule It Out, Either.” OK.For anyone keeping track, Sunday is the five-year anniversary of me shutting down RVANews. It makes me sad to think about, but I love doing what I'm doing now. It is wild, though, to think that some readers of this newsletter have never even heard of RVANews!This morning's longreadOur Digital Pasts Weren't Supposed to Be Weaponized Like ThisI specifically remember having conversations a decade ago about how leaked nudes or embarrassing social media missteps wouldn't be a thing in the 2020s. How could they with whole generations of people growing up on the internet while documenting and sharing more and more of their lives publicly? Turns out, I was way, way wrong.Ms. Ball thought so too. She lost that long-ago Congressional race and is now a media commentator and the author of a book about the new political age. She said in a recent interview that she thought her so-called scandal would be a temporary blip before society adjusted and “that people would grow more accepting” of photos or problematic comments from the past. “It's the polar opposite,” she said. “It's more reactionary and judgmental than it's ever been.” Why haven't repeated calls to replace digital shaming with empathy and compassion resonated? Or at the very least, why hasn't a fear of mutually assured destruction set in?If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the Day

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F already, and temperatures today should heat up just a little more. At some point, a cold(er) front will move through and maybe even bring some rain with it!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 236 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 9 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 29 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 7, Henrico: 16, and Richmond: 6). Since this pandemic began, 1,320 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 406. The NYT reports that, countrywide, new COVID-19 cases have dropped to levels not seen since last summer.Over in vaccine world, first, check out the graph of new people in Virginia with at least one dose and see how a change in VDH’s reporting has made this graph…less satisfying to look at. A couple days back, VDH started including doses administered by the federal government into this dataset (specifically the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service, and Veterans Administration). This resulted in a massive, one-time spike and an unknown daily increase in folks with at least one dose. I’m bummed because now I can’t tell if the increase in folks getting their first dose is a result of this new reporting change or because a bunch of kids 12–15 decided to get vaccinated. Maybe that latter thing is better represented in this graph of total doses administered locally, in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. We’ve seen a pretty sizable increase in total jabs, and, while I have no way of knowing, doesn’t seem like it’s 100% explainable by adding in federal doses. Finally, I updated this graph to reflect progress towards 70% of local folks vaccinated instead of 75% (I also made it a bit easier on the eyes).Mayor Stoney has a reflective column in the New York Times as part of their series on George Floyd and America. I think a lot of local folks are going to take issue with the Mayor’s retelling of events in this piece. There are a handful of pro-police hedges and qualification that will rub some people—myself included—the wrong way. The Virginia Mercury’s Graham Moomaw points out the worst of these on Twitter: framing the RPD’s use of tear gas as unintentional in the New York Times when, over the summer, we were all told something entirely different.Kind of related, Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the task force setting up the Civilian Review Board, touted by Stoney in that NYT piece, is frustrated with the Richmond Police Department’s lack of input and involvement: “Only after applying public pressure in the form of a tweet has the task force heard any response from [Police Chief] Smith.” Apparently the taskforce has asked the chief to get involved for at least a month with no luck. This quote from a task force member is particularly damning: "At some point, the unwillingness to engage with this body does start to feel like arrogance. I don’t think we can overlook it…If you’re watching a task force creating a civilian review board that could potentially just co-opt your authority, and there’s nothing. It makes me feel like they don’t believe it or they’re just not going to deal with it. They think they can get out of it.” The task force meets again on Wednesday, so we’ll see if Chief Smith shows up.City Council will tackle a handful of interesting items today at both their informal and formal meetings. First, the Mayor’s team will give a presentation on the revised Equity Agenda. The presentation includes five general examples of the changes they’ll make, but I haven’t found an actual updated document yet. When it exists I’ll let you know. Then, at their formal meeting and as part of the more intense Regular Agenda, Council will consider RES. 2021-R026 (the embarrassing Richmond 300 “amendments”), RES. 2021-R027(getting rid of parking minimums), and RES. 2021-R028 (saying out loud that they’d like to put $7.1 million from the American Rescue Plan money into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund). I bet we will not see all three of these pass tonight—in fact, it looks like the Richmond 300 amendments have already been continued to the June 28th meeting.If you’re into beer, Paste Magazine has a review of (all?) 37 breweries in the greater Richmond area. I like how this piece opens, remembering that before the General Assembly relaxed the laws regulating breweries we had a grand total of one single brewery for the longest time. For what seems like forever, we all just drank a ton of Legend Brown—as if having a brown ale as your city’s flagship local beer is a normal thing.Via /r/rva this lovely golden-hour drone photo of the river, the skyline, some bridges, and something going on at Brown’s Island. It’s about to be summer, y’all!This morning’s longreadWhy Confederate Lies Live OnClint Smith writes about the persistent Lost Cause narrative and begins his story at Blandford Cemetery down in Petersburg.We left the church, and a breeze slid across my face. Many people go to places like Blandford to see a piece of history, but history is not what is reflected in that glass. A few years ago, I decided to travel around America visiting sites that are grappling—or refusing to grapple—with America’s history of slavery. I went to plantations, prisons, cemeteries, museums, memorials, houses, and historical landmarks. As I traveled, I was moved by the people who have committed their lives to telling the story of slavery in all its fullness and humanity. And I was struck by the many people I met who believe a version of history that rests on well-documented falsehoods.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the Day

Please enjoy Preston's conversation with Command Chief Master Sergeant Greg Smith on the evolution of Special Operations Forces. Command Chief Master Sergeant Gregory A. Smith is the tenth command senior enlisted leader, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida. He assumed the position on July 11, 2019. Chief Smith entered the U.S. Air Force in 1990 as an aircraft armament systems specialist. His initial assignment was with the 3246th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. In 1993, Chief Smith was reassigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska where he served as a weapons load crew member on A/OA-10 aircraft. He completed multiple deployments to the pacific theater. Chief Smith was selected for special duty as an AC-130H/U aerial gunner in 1996. He served as lead, instructor and evaluator gunner with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He also served as the superintendent of Wing Strategic Plans with the 16th Special Operations Wing. In September 2001, Chief Smith was part of the first team to deploy following the terror attacks on 9/11. He established the first forward operating base and then deployed to Pakistan where he established a joint interagency forward operating location. In 2009, Chief Smith became the first course director and chief of academics for the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy. In June 2012, Chief Smith was selected for command chief master sergeant for the 58th Special Operations Wing where he oversaw the training and readiness for special operations and combat rescue personnel. In 2013, Chief Smith was selected as the command senior enlisted leader for Special Operations Command Europe where he led special operations forces through multiple contingencies in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria. Chief Smith became the command senior enlisted leader for NATO Special Operations Headquarters in 2015. In this role, he synchronized Allied special operations forces for employment in support of NATO missions across the globe. Chief Smith’s last assignment was the command chief master sergeant, Air Force Special Operations Command.

On this episode of the Ones Ready podcast we sit down with the United States Special Operations Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Chief Greg Smith.  Chief Smith has had a colorful career and has gone from a Weapons Loader on A-10s to an AC-130 Gunner, to the Special Operations Command Europe Senior Enlisted to Air Force Special Operations Command Senior Enlisted, to Special Operations Command.  Chief Smith covers SOF accountability, Transregional Crossdomain Detterance, and the future of SOCOM.  We also tap on some of the initiatives they're working up there and their new endeavor into podcasting from a Command level.  We promise you don't want to skip through any of this episode!  Please enjoy the episode and give us your feedback. If you liked it and feel so inclined, please leave us a review.  If we didn’t answer your questions, please let us know, and thank you for your support!Want to watch this episode on Youtube? https://youtu.be/Kanf_hcQprwNeed the show notes? onesready.com/episode/74Have a question?  Email us at info@onesready.comFollow us on Instagram @onesreadyFollow us on YoutubeFollow us on Facebook

On this episode, we're joined by journalist, author, and podcast host Roy S. Johnson and our very own Birmingham Chief of Police Patrick Smith. We begin by discussing the new podcast "Unjustifiable" hosted by Roy S. Johnson. The podcast discusses the death of 20-year-old Bonita Carter at the hands of a Birmingham Police Department Officer in 1979. As this conversation had many parallels to protests and conversations of today, Chief Smith joins in to lead us through the ways the Birmingham PD keeps us safe in 2020 and beyond.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 58 °F, and we now, apparently, live in Fogtown, USA. After the fog burns off, expect highs in the 60s and a generally pleasant day. We’ve got at least another one of these on deck before hurricane remnants move in and give us a pretty good chance of rain on Thursday.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 904↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 2↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 93↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 49, Henrico: 20, and Richmond: 24). Since this pandemic began, 410 people have died in the Richmond region. Locally, the seven-day average of new reported cases sits at 113. I don’t think we’ve had a combined Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield seven-day average over a hundred since back in August. Mostly Chesterfield and Henrico have driven that increase, an increase which started around the second week of October when the local combined seven-day average was just 57. VDH’s pandemic dashboard (which updates on Mondays) reflects the local increases in case counts we’re seeing and puts the Central Region at “substantial community transmission,” the highest level, for the week ending October 24th. Keep in mind 1) the Central Region is massive compared to Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield, and 2) we’re just, just, just over the thresholds for substantial community transmission and the trend is fluctuating. I don’t love when I statdump like this without giving any guidance about how this new information impacts your life. So…keep wearing your masks?Here’s a weird article by Reed Williams at the Richmond Times-Dispatch about a new “External Advisory Committee” established by Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith. The committee will focus on “community involvement, officer recruitment, and transparency.” However, Chief Smith “declined to name all but one of the new committee’s 15 members and balked when asked if a reporter could cover one of the meetings.” This is…not super transparent? The Chief say he has concerns about members of the committee getting doxxed and harassed for working with the police, which, I dunno. I’m sure the FOIAs are already flying. If the police want to create an external advisory committee—to help them with community involvement and transparency—maybe the first step is being transparent about who from the community is involved? We’ll see how this committee is used in future discussions about police procedures, but in no way should it replace or prevent the work to establish a Civilian Review Board.Wyatt Gordon at the Virginia Mercury writes about the increase in pedestrian deaths on Virginia’s streets over the last couple of years. Just last week a 16-year-old girl was killed by a driver on Richmond’s Southside. Maybe this happens—I have no idea—but every time someone dies or is seriously injured on our streets, the Department of Public Works should do an immediate investigation, figure out what happened, and deploy rapid-response infrastructure to address the problem. Cones, barrels, and signal timing can do a lot to narrow roadways, decrease speeds, and prevent a “6,000 pound Nissan Titan spiraling up and onto the sidewalk.”City Council meets today at 2:00 PM for a special meeting to decide what to do with the surplus funds from last year—and it’s a lot of surplus, something like $14 million. ORD. 2017–215 (PDF) takes a lot of the fun out of those decisions by boringly and automatically earmarking where any general fund surpluses end up: 50% goes into the Rain Day Fund, 40% to the Capital Maintenance Reserve, and 10% to special projects. It’s that 10% Council has been trying to figure out over the last couple weeks, while the Mayor’s administration has been trying to figure out exactly how much surplus exists. RES. 2020-R059 (PDF) sets out Council’s priorities: $780,000 for post-employment benefits, $110,000 for an equity study (described in RES. 2020-R013as costing $221,770), and $500,000 for COVID-19 contingencies. I think I said a million weeks ago that if it we’re me, I’d sock away the vast majority of any surplus to prepare for the upcoming and probably terrible budget season. Looks like that the City already has laws on the books to make that happen automatically!I don’t have much to say about the inevitable, under-the-cover-of-darkness swearing in of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. I am, however, looking for your smartest longreads on SCOTUS reform or expansion.This morning’s longreadBail Out ParentsI almost sent this article in the Atlantic about government issued per-child stipends (which were passed in the House as part of the HEROES Act yet never even given a vote in the Senate) to local early-childhood policy expert Elliot Haspel. But, turns out, he is the author of this very piece!Parents, taken collectively, are an underrecognized yet vital economic interest. According to the Brookings Institution, 41.2 million workers, a third of the entire workforce, have a child under age 18. Nearly 34 million have a child under age 14 who is likely to require some kind of supervision during virtual schooling, a task that disproportionately falls on mothers’ shoulders. COVID-19, unsurprisingly and infuriatingly, is already driving women out of the workforce. According to a recent Census Bureau report, “Around one in five (18.2%) of working-age adults said the reason they were not working was because COVID-19 disrupted their childcare arrangements,” with women three times as likely as men to report this barrier.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

My guest Chief Daniel Smith of the Olla Police Department in Louisiana has accomplished something, that's not very easy to nor very common in law enforcement.... Become the "Chief of Police" while in your twenties! After about 20 minutes into the conversation, I understood why Daniel was elected by the citizens of Olla for the position. Topics We Discuss Chief Smith was very open about his humble upbringing, being bullied and his struggle with having low self-esteem when he was younger. He discusses his transformation from being over weight to turning his life around by working out. We talk about his love for his family and doing something his parents were not able to doing with him as a kid. After achieving so much at a young age in law enforce, Chief Smith talks about what's in the future. Follow Daniel on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/daniel_ray_smith/ (Instagram) =============== Sponsor: http://theoffdutypodcast.com/bookvip (Click here to book your 3-7 day ALL INCLUSIVE vacation for as little as $39 down.)

Chief Mick Smith is the Fire Chief of Riverdale, Illinois. He has been in the Fire Service since the age of 12. Chief Smith continues to learn, grow and inspire. Larry Conley and the GLUe Crew talk with this trailblazing leader about his experiences and the things that motivated him to be one of the youngest Fire Chiefs in his department's history.  Sponsored by https://globe.msasafety.com/athletix. The best way to keep up with Fire Engineering? Get our regular e-Newsletter: www.fireengineering.com/enewsletter.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 70 °F, and today looks slightly less steamy-hot than the last couple of days. Get out there and enjoy it (while staying hydrated)!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 972↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 2↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 75↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 27, Henrico: 31, and Richmond: 17). Since this pandemic began, 270 people have died in the Richmond region. The last time the Commonwealth reported more than 972 cases was back on June 7th, one of just a handful of days ever with over 1,000 reported positive coronavirus cases. We’ll see what today’s numbers bring, but if Virginia starts reporting 1,000 cases per day on the regular I have to think the Governor will implement some changes. Maybe changes to Phase Three? Maybe regional changes? If you’ve got a second, tap through the Number of Cases by Date of Symptom Onset graphs filtered by region. Almost every region (except Central Virginia) has seen an increase in cases, but Eastern Virginia is really driving a lot of the change we’re seeing in the statewide numbers. I’d love to know what’s different in each of these regions and what we can learn from each other over the next couple of months.The Commonwealth Times’s Hannah Eason spent some time at last night’s peaceful protest Downtown, and she’s put together some pictures and videos from the event. This is the second night of peaceful protests that start at MLK Middle School and make their way to City Hall to hang out, demonstrate, and listen to speakers. Unlike a couple weeks back, police did not show up—Richmond Police or Virginia State Police—and gas everyone to get them to go home. Related and totally worth your tap: NPR talked to Regina Boone, a Richmond Free Press photographer, about her work capturing images from the last month and a half of protests.Yesterday, I put together a bonus piece explaining the five pieces of police reform legislation currently sitting on various City Council agendas. I think that legislation, along with the Mayor’s Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety, make up the first steps towards the actual police policy reform only made possible through the work of longtime advocates and, more recently, protestors. If you’re too lazy to tap, on the docket we’ve got: Creating a civilian review board task force, creating a Marcus Alert work group, asking the Richmond Police Department to stop using chemical and other less-than lethal weapons, reporting on the RPD’s use of funding for mental health services, and reporting on the status and use of various asset forfeiture special funds in the City’s budget. The headlining item out of this small stack of papers is definitely ORD. 2020–155 which creates the CRB task force (and is the only true ordinance of the bunch). Councilmember Addison, chair of the Government Operations committee, says that committee will discuss ORD. 2020–155 on July 23rd, and you can submit public comment to the City Clerk at any point before July 21st at 10:00 AM (cityclerksoffice@richmondgov.com). Also, in a public engagement move that makes my heart sing with gladness, Addison has put together a Google Doc of the ordinance that you can mark up however you like. I realize that the set of people who want to leave a public comment on an ordinance about civilian review boards and choose to do so by reading and marking up legal text through Google Docs is probably pretty small. BUT STILL, this is a great way to collect smart and specific feedback—but, of course, in no way should be the only means of feedback. Anyway, I think the text of this ordinance is a little too prescriptive in defining the goals and purview of Richmond’s potential CRB, but it’s a place to start.I mentioned it in the legislation explainer piece, but the Richmond Accountability and Transparency Project has demanded that Mayor Stoney disband his Reimagining Public Safety Task Force before it even gets started. RTAP’s press release calls the Mayor’s task force “a distraction from the formation of a real independent civilian review board” and they “demand that Mayor Stoney disband his task force and defer to the one proposed in…ORD. 2020–155”. First, RTAP are and have been thefolks leading the conversation on creating a Civilian Review Board in Richmond. Without their work and expertise over the last several years, we wouldn’t even be talking about CRBs today. Second, the makeup of the Mayor’s task force has already been criticized for lacking Latinx voices, and, while I don’t personally agree, I do think you can make an argument for not including any law enforcement at all on this particular task force. Third, unless I misunderstood entirely, the Mayor’s task force is not intended to duplicate the work that will be done by the Task Force on the Establishment of a Civilian Review Board set up by ORD. 2020–155. The Mayor’s task force has a broader charge of “reviewing the police department’s use of force policies, exploring an approach to public safety that uses a human services lens and prioritizing community healing and engagement.” So the way I understood it—and I’m often extremely dense, so grain of salt—was that the Mayor’s task force would deliver very high-level public safety recommendations within the next 45 days, one of which probably would be to “support the existing legislative process of creating a CRB as defined by ORD. 2020–155.” Fourth, and finally, these are complex, emotional, and important conversations, and like most complex, emotional, and important conversations, folks can have legitimate reasons for standing on either side—or right in the dang middle!—of the issue. Is gathering 20+ smart folks, many of whom are dedicated to serving communities impacted by over-policing, in a room for a month and a half the best way to reimagine public safety? Would we have been better off to slow the process down and involve the folks actually impacted by over-policing? These are a good questions that I do not know the answer to.Ali Rockett and Mark Robinson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch sat down with the new RPD Chief Gerald Smith and have a bunch of interesting quotes that you should go read. Chief Smith says “Can the department be effective with less funding? No, it cannot. … The question is not defund the police; it’s fund the change.” I mean I get it, no department head is ever going to ask for less money in their budget. But, that said, if we change what we expect of the police in our communities, it may require less funding for them to be effective at it. Also, and maybe it’s time to start endlessly repeating this again ahead of elections, but: Raising the real estate tax is the only way to meaningfully fund change in Richmond.Tonight at 6:00 PM, the Richmond School Board will meet again and potentially vote on a school reopening plan. Your homework: Read Superintendent Kamras’s email before the meeting. It’s got descriptions of the five plans up for consideration, as well as some feedback he’s gotten from families and teachers/staff both for and against reopening schools. It’s nice to read through four sides of the same issue. To quote Kamras: “I share these quotes not to persuade anyone one way or the other. I share them only to demonstrate that there are very legitimate and very passionate feelings on all sides of the reopening debate.”Don’t forget! The Henrico/Richmond City Health District hosts free COVID-19 testing events on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You’ll find them today at the Broad Rock Community Center (4615 Ferguson Lane) and on Thursday at Tuckahoe Middle School (9000 Three Chopt Road). Make sure you give the hotline a ring before you head out (804.205.3501).This morning’s longreadWhy Bus-Loving Rep. Ayanna Pressley Wants Transit to Be FreeA huge federal win for transit would be to just stop funding massive road-building projects. We’ve got enough roads. We’re good.The caucus’ first major win is a massive surface-transportation bill that passed the House yesterday. The Moving Forward Act is a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package aimed at shifting the country’s spending paradigm away from what Pressley calls “antiquated” policies that favor car dependence and highways and toward streets and cities that prioritize the safety of people biking, walking, and riding buses. “Investing in sustainable transportation options, like bikes and mass transit, is not only imperative to the health of our planet but to the equity of our communities,” says Representative Earl Blumenauer, Pressley’s Congressional Bike Caucus co-chair. “With this legislation, Congress has the opportunity to meaningfully invest in initiatives that serve people who have been consistently overlooked.”If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 56 °F, and, with highs today in the mid 80s, it looks like another great day to spend outside.Water coolerYesterday, locked away safe in my home following along on Twitter, I saw some of the most wonderful and peaceful protests bookended around one incidence of violence and escalation by the Richmond Police Department. Early evening, protestors had gathered downtown with, at least to my eyes, an entirely different vibe from previous nights. Organizers led folks in chants, in silence, in sitting down quietly while folks spoke—I saw lots of masks! Eventually the protestors made their way to the Robert E. Lee monument and gathered there ahead of the 8:00 PM curfew. About 30 minutes before curfew began, without warning, Richmond police officers shot tear gas into a calm and peaceful crowd. Any goodwill either the RPD or, by extension, the Mayor had left after the last couple of days most likely evaporated when cops swaggered their way through clouds of teargas, chased people down—people who were running away—and sprayed them point-blank with pepper spray. The lasting visual of Richmond’s police department from yesterday will be their choice to use fear and violence against Richmond humans to protect a Confederate statue.RPD’s reaction to folks' outrage, in the moment, was…not great. First they started with: “To our peaceful protestors: We are sorry we had to deploy gas near the Lee Monument. Some RPD officers in that area were cut off by violent protestors. The gas was necessary to get them to safety.” Videos and first-hand reporter accountsdon’t support that position at all, and, you can imagine the response people paying attention had to a “we are sorry but” tweet. It was not positive. RPD followed that up with: “To our peaceful protestors: We stand with you today and will keep supporting your rights to express your opinions in safety.” Which, after the whole machismo, Resevoir Dogs-through-the-cloud-of-tear-gas moment, didn’t ring super true. And, finally, about two hours after the original event, they posted: “Chief Smith just reviewed video of gas being deployed by RPD officers near the Lee Monument and apologizes for this unwarranted action. These officers have been pulled from the field. They will be disciplined because their actions were outside dept protocols and directions given.” This pretty much contradicts their original statement, so it’ll be interesting to see who accepts responsibility for what or how things get spun this morning.In the midst of RPD’s stumbles through public relations, Mayor Stoney also took to Twitter to commit to attending a meeting set up by (I think) protestors today at City Hall at 12:00 PM to personally apologize to people gassed by the police. He followed that up with: “Words cannot make this right, and words cannot restore the trust broken this evening. Only action. Only action will repair this community. Come to City Hall tomorrow at noon. I want to say sorry. I want to listen.” Folks are obviously and legitimately very, very angry right now, and the Mayor had many, many opportunities throughout the weekend to make decisions that would have taken Richmond to a different Tuesday morning, one without memories of teargas and violent cops. That said, this is the correct path to make things right: an unqualified apology, naming what he did wrong, listening to the people he wronged, and a promise of action. All of those parts are important—especially the action—and we’ll see what comes of that this afternoon. VPM’s Alan Rodriguez has more on the Marcus Alert, which folks have spent the last couple of years asking for and feels like one possible policy outcome from today’s meeting.Finally, after all of that and despite direct provocation from the police, protestors continued their march, peacefully for several hours. I think that’s amazing, and I’m incredibly inspired by and have a lot to learn from folks like 19-year-old organizer Jared Ivey. To get gassed and pepper sprayed and then end on a message of love? That’s just…whew. The evening ended back at the Robert E. Lee monument with people filling the statue’s steps, celebrating their accomplishments. I can’t help but note the symmetry between last night’s closing images and this postcard from the unveiling of the Jefferson Davis monument. In 1907—over a hundred years ago today and almost 50 years after the end of the Civil War—600 White children lined up in front of the Lee monument to celebrate a flag designed to spread fear and violence. Last night, hundreds of Richmonders—many young, many Black and Brown—lined up in front of the Lee monument to demand that we finally, finally start making the changes to move away from that history of fear and violence.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 791 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 17 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 139 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 20, Henrico: 38, and Richmond: 81). Since this pandemic began, 194 people have died in the Richmond region. It is Pandemic Tuesday, so today I fully expect to see a big bump in all of these numbers. As far as testing in the Commonwealth goes, even with the inclusion of the antibody tests, VDH has only reported results from more than 10,000 tests six out of the last 14 days. The 14-day average of new tests per day sits riiiiiight at the 10,000 goal, so I think there’s still more work to do on that front. Locally, I’m really interested in this graph of the seven-day average of new reported COVID-19 cases in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. At this point, the jurisdictional differences have melted away and each locality has started to report a similar number of new cases each day. We’ll see if Richmond’s delay of Phase One has any impact on this graph in a couple of weeks.Our Confederate monuments have provided the literal and metaphorical background for much of the past days' protests. My loudly official position is to, of course, tear down these huge monuments to White supremacy as soon as possible, and @_SmithNicholas_ reminds me that, come July 1st, Richmond can begin the legal process of taking down the statues that it owns. He asks a great question: Which City Councilmember will get the resolution introduced to hold the state-required public hearing? If you think that it should be yourcouncilmember, maybe shoot them an email. Also, while we’re at it, the context added to the monuments by protestors should stay until we take these things down. Protestor graffiti has become an important part of the history of the Berlin Wall and should become an important part of the history of our Confederate statues. The rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church downtown—the church Robert E. Lee attended—had this to say about the graffiti on and around his church: "It’s something that the church has to look at—I mean literally and spiritually—and figure out what it is that we need to be about…we can’t sweep it under the rug…My plan is to leave it here.”The Richmond 300 draft plan is now available for you to download, read, highlight, and send excerpts to all of your urbanism-related grouptexts. I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet for obvious reasons but am excited to dig in soon.This morning’s longreadYou cannot keep from getting swept up in Trump’s agenda without a firm grasp on your ownJay Rosen is one of my favorite media thinkers. His latest post lays out some incredibly important advice about bias for journalists as we move through both a pandemic and nationwide protests for police reform.Now we are met on an ugly and brutal battlefield: the 2020 campaign for president. How should American journalists approach it? I have previewed my answer in the title of this post: You can’t keep from getting swept up in Trump’s agenda without a firm grasp on your own. But what should that agenda be? To this tricky question I now turn, armed with my distinction between the properly political and the overly politicized. I am going to list a few things I think journalists can legitimately be “for” as they report on the coming election. If they choose not to choose, and head into the 2020 campaign without stars to steer by, they are likely to become lost in Trump’s predictable flood of newsy distractions and lurid controversies. They know what’s coming. What they don’t know is how to avoid playing along. Here are some suggestions.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Chief Smith gives us an update on Canine Officer Pyro, the use of dogs in crime fighting and how you can follow Pyro's progress.

Chief Smith gives us an update on Canine Officer Pyro, the use of dogs in crime fighting and how you can follow Pyro's progress.

Rick Smith is the 45th police chief for Kansas City Missouri. He spent 29 years working his way up the ranks and now leads a force of 1283. I got comfortable with Chief Smith as he talks about the challenges of being chief and a "Poppy"

Andrew Smith, Green Bay's newly appointed Police Chief joins Rhonda and Elliot for an episode of Political Radar. (Spoiler Alert: He is not there to arrest them.) Chief Smith shares his unique view on how a small city like Green Bay compares to Los Angeles, where he was previously the LAPD's top spokesman. He also shares his ideas on how police/community relations can be improved.

Andrew Smith, Green Bay's newly appointed Police Chief joins Rhonda and Elliot for an episode of Political Radar. (Spoiler Alert: He is not there to arrest them.) Chief Smith shares his unique view on how a small city like Green Bay compares to Los Angeles, where he was previously the LAPD's top spokesman. He also shares his ideas on how police/community relations can be improved.

Andrew Smith, Green Bay's newly appointed Police Chief joins Rhonda and Elliot for an episode of Political Radar. (Spoiler Alert: He is not there to arrest them.) Chief Smith shares his unique view on how a small city like Green Bay compares to Los Angeles, where he was previously the LAPD's top spokesman. He also shares his ideas on how police/community relations can be improved.

Andrew Smith, Green Bay's newly appointed Police Chief joins Rhonda and Elliot for an episode of Political Radar. (Spoiler Alert: He is not there to arrest them.) Chief Smith shares his unique view on how a small city like Green Bay compares to Los Angeles, where he was previously the LAPD's top spokesman. He also shares his ideas on how police/community relations can be improved.