Independent Policing Auditor Ameratu Kamara has resigned amid several investigations into deaths in Alexandria police custody.
Alexandria City Council met this morning (Oct. 2) to accept Kamara’s resignation, effective Oct. 3. City Council’s 6-0 vote will provide Kamara with five months of salary as severance pay and payout of any unused leave.
“We appreciate her stepping in and stepping up to lead the office, especially after the passing of our first independent police auditor,” Mayor Alyia Gaskins said. “We thank her for the work that she has done to build the capacity of this office, including our investigative capacity and helping strengthen our civilian oversight system.”
Alexandria native Kamara was first appointed as the city’s acting auditor in January following the December 2024 death of former auditor Kim Neal, who had fulfilled the role since its commencement in 2022. She was named to the permanent position in December 2025.
Gaskins said City Council will work with City Manager Jim Parajon and the city’s human resources office to find an interim replacement. The city will also conduct a national search to permanently fill the independent policing auditor position.
The resignation comes after City Council in July sought more investigation on Kamara’s report into last summer’s in-custody death of Allan Tucker II. The Independent Community Policing Review Board determined the report was incomplete and needed further investigation. This was the review board’s first case since City Council founded it in 2021.
In her report, Kamara found that two officers and their supervisor, a sergeant, ignored Tucker’s repeated requests to be taken to the hospital and that a “lengthy shift change” at the jail resulted in Tucker never getting a standard medical screening by a nurse. Kamara’s disciplinary recommendations to Police Chief Tarrick McGuire were not made public in her report, a sticking point with the review board that City Council asked her to clarify.
In a follow-up report, the auditor was expected to look into the actions of the supervising sergeant, provide clarity behind communication issues with the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and seek additional information on APD training recommendations.
The auditor’s office is also tasked with with producing a report into the police’s fatal shooting of a homicide suspect in the West End in May. McGuire released body camera footage of the 27 Canterbury Square shooting and cited the suspect making a “furtive gesture,” suggesting he was concealing or pulling out a weapon. The victim was identified as 27-year-old Emily Ramirez, and the suspect shot by police was her boyfriend, 38-year-old Hector Amaya.
