Alexandria’s independent policing auditor has concluded Alexandria Police Department officers violated performance standards and body camera directives when they transported Allan Tucker II, who died in their custody in the sally port of the city jail.
That’s according to a report Independent Police Auditor Ameratu Kamara released Monday (June 22). Kamara found that the officer who arrested Tucker at an apartment complex in the city’s West End on Aug. 15, 2025, disregarded the 32-year-old Tucker’s multiple requests to be taken to the hospital, even as they drove past Inova Alexandria Hospital.
Tucker repeatedly asked officers to be taken to a hospital, according to footage from officers’ body cameras.
“During transport, Mr. Tucker made repeated statements requesting to be taken to a hospital,” Kamara wrote. “These requests occurred as the patrol vehicle passed a hospital and continued during transport to the Adult Detention Center. Officer 1 acknowledged these statements but continued transport to the detention center rather than seeking medical evaluation.”
Tucker, who was arrested for public intoxication, died in police custody while awaiting processing in a police cruiser at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center’s sally port. Tucker died after waiting 35 to 40 minutes in the sally port during a Alexandria Sheriff’s Office shift change.
Kamara said that the “lengthy shift change” resulted in Tucker never getting a standard medical screening by a nurse at the detention center.
“Mr. Tucker became unresponsive during his delayed admission and later died despite life-saving efforts by APD officers and members of the Alexandria Fire Department and EMS,” Kamara wrote.
Three officers were placed on administrative leave after the incident and resumed full duties six months later, according to the report.
Kamara confirmed to ALXnow that APD never notified the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office that Tucker was experiencing a medical issue until he was found unresponsive in the back seat of the cruiser.
APD policies dictate that suspects get an “appropriate medical evaluation” after they ask for it, Kamara wrote.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, the decision to continue transport to the detention center rather than seek medical evaluation was not consistent with these directives,” Kamara wrote. “The investigation determined that Mr. Tucker made multiple statements indicating a desire for medical care.”
The arresting officer and two other officers violated APD policy by muting their body camera to have a private conversation with other officers while Tucker was in custody, according to the auditor.
Kamara also found that the arresting officer and another officer “failed to meet performance standards in the transport and monitoring of an arrestee in custody.”
In a statement to ALXnow, APD said that it “values the Independent Policing Auditor’s review and will carefully consider the report’s recommendations.”
“This case has had a profound impact on the Tucker family, the officers involved, and the Alexandria community,” APD said. “We remain committed to a thorough examination of the facts, transparency, and continuous improvement in our service to the community.”
ALXnow has also reached out to the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Retired Sheriff Dana Lawhorne believes APD decided Tucker didn’t need medical attention.
“If the officers felt there was need for urgent medical attention, they would have requested EMS to respond to the scene,” Lawhorne said. “The auditor gives you the impression the police rely on the medical screening at the jail. This screening is a basic check of the vitals prior to entry into the jail; it is not a medical exam. The officers would not take someone to jail for medical treatment, that was never their intent.”
A GoFundMe launched by Tucker’s family for legal costs has raised more than $5,300.
Why was Alan Tucker arrested?
APD officers arrested Tucker after responding to 911 calls about a disturbance at a residential building in the 2800 block of N. Beauregard Street. Police found him unarmed and tried to de-escalate before taking him into custody for public intoxication, APD Chief Tarrick McGuire previously stated.
In body camera footage, Tucker repeatedly claimed there was someone in his apartment with a gun, and he would not go back into the apartment — even after it was cleared by officers. The only person in the apartment was Tucker’s father, who tried to get his son to get back into the home.
“You ok?” the officer asked Tucker upon seeing him squatting against a wall in the hallway.
“No, I’m not,” Tucker replied. “Somebody’s in my house and I don’t know why.”
Tucker refused to go back into his home and was eventually handcuffed and transported to the Alexandria jail. During the transport, he repeatedly asked the arresting officer to take him to the hospital, according to the video released.
“Take me to Alexandria hospital, please,” Tucker asked the officer. “I need to go to the hospital.”
“We’re going to jail,” the officer responded.
Police Chief Tarrick McGuire said in a news conference two weeks after the incident that Tucker was violently kicking the inside of the cruiser door while in the sally port. Tucker was quiet in the cruiser for about 20 minutes before officers found him to be unresponsive, according to body camera footage.
No charges against officers
In January, Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter announced he would not seek charges against officers involved in Tucker’s death. Porter made the determination after investigations by the medical examiner and Northern Virginia’s Critical Incident Review Team.
The CIRT investigation found officers “did not use or attempt to use force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury at any point during their interaction with the arrestee,” Porter said in a release.
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said that she’s still reading the independent police auditor’s report and will attend the public hearing on June 29.
“I’m in the process of reviewing the auditor’s report, and at this stage what it shows at least is that the value of having additional eyes and additional evaluation of all our processes in the city,” Bagley told ALXnow.
The auditor’s recommendations
Kamara is recommending:
- APD should consider establishing clearer guidance or thresholds for officer-initiated medical transport
- APD implement agency-wide refresher training on body worn cameras and the proper use of the mute function, and the importance of “maintaining transparency during active incidents”
- APD clarify how repeated requests for medical assistance should be evaluated and addressed
- APD install dash cameras to document suspects in cruisers
- APD should review policies regarding medical transport
- City Council and City Manager’s Office should evaluate the feasibility of reestablishing a detoxification or diversion facility in Alexandria to provide a direct response option within the next five years
- City Council, the City Attorney’s and the City Manager’s Office may consider exploring legal options to expand oversight at the state and municipal level to include independent investigations and review of Sheriff and detention personnel and operations
- The City should request an assessment of detention center operations on the date of the incident, including: Timeline from arrival to medical emergency, s staffing levels and operational conditions, intake procedures and prioritization and communication between APD and Sheriff’s Office
Upcoming public hearing
The city’s Independent Community Policing Review Board will conduct a public hearing on Tucker’s death from 6:30-9 p.m. Monday, June 29 in the City Council Chamber at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center.
The board can take the following actions during the meeting:
- Concur with all or some of the findings and determinations detailed in the Auditor’s investigation report
- Advise City Council, the City Manager, the Alexandria Police Department (APD), and the Auditor that the Auditor’s findings are not supported by the information reasonably available to APD and recommend further review, consideration, or action
- Advise City Council, the City Manager, APD, and the Auditor that, in the Board’s judgment, the investigation is incomplete and recommend additional investigation
- Recommend referral of the complaint to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria
