Alexandria Police Officer Jonathan Griffin has been charged with assault and battery for an unjustified use of force against a handcuffed resident in January, according to the city.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter said that 32-year-old, who was dismissed from the department after the incident, was charged with one count of assault and battery. The charge is a Class 1 misdemeanor and the maximum penalty is a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Kamryn Powell is tired of feeling scared when she goes outside in Alexandria. The T.C. Williams senior says that recent killings of black Americans at the hands of the police around the country have made her fearful for her safety.
“Honestly, it’s completely heartbreaking,” Powell said in a virtual meeting with community leaders on Tuesday. “It makes me feel unsafe in my own country. For me to have to wake up and say, ‘I hope I make it back home today,’ is not something I should have to say. It’s not something my brother should have to say, it’s not something my sister should have to say, and for me to even think that is appalling.”
Sen. Kaine Features T.C. Senior Graduation Speech — “Thank you to Mathieu from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria for encouraging the Class of 2020 to be leaders and always lend a helping hand.” [Facebook]
Beyer Calls on U.S. Attorney General to Resign — “The Attorney General is the top law enforcement officer in the country, the leader of an agency meant to protect Americans’ constitutional rights. Barr betrayed that mission by ordering the violent and systematic violation of peaceful protesters’ rights. He should resign.” [Twitter]
Fewer arrests, calls for service and inmates in the Alexandria Jail are just a few of the changes the city is contending with as it tries to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Alexandria Police have seen a 42% reduction in calls for service and a 91% decrease in traffic stops since the Governor announced his stay at home order on March 30.
A grand jury has indicted Kenneth Whitcomb, a 62-year-old Alexandria resident, on a charge of reckless driving following a deadly pedestrian collision last November.
John Charles Thompson, a 75-year old Fairfax resident and retired Army general, was struck on Nov. 16 on Duke Street near the Alexandria Commons shopping center around 7:30 a.m. Police said that Thompson was in a crosswalk at the time of the crash.
The Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney believes that the Virginia General Assembly will pass measures to decriminalize marijuana this session, but that doesn’t mean he will stop prosecuting simple possession charges.
In fact, while Bryan Porter introduced a diversion program in the summer that would allow people to be treated more leniently, that’s not stopping him from prosecuting such cases.
The author talk focuses on Bryan Porter’s book The Parable of the Knocker, the behind-the-scenes story released earlier this year about the investigation, prosecution and trial of Severance. He was ultimately convicted of the murders of Nancy Dunning in 2003, Ronald Kirby in 2013 and Ruthanne Lodato in 2014.
For years, the mystery of Dunning’s murder threw a shadow over the community, and Porter’s book looks at the work investigators did to connect the 2003 killing to the two in 2013 and 2014.
