Virginia Beach police oversight board, created to investigate complaints against officers, will begin training soon

VIRGINIA BEACH — Training will begin this month for members of a new board that will investigate complaints about the conduct of the city’s law enforcement officers.

The Independent Citizens Review Board will learn about constitutional laws, use of force and body-worn cameras among other topics during an intensive 10-day training period, according to the schedule obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.

State legislation in 2020 authorized localities to establish civilian boards with investigative powers for oversight of police starting in July 2021 and defined the scope of the boards’ duties. In the spring of 2021, Virginia Beach established a task force to study police oversight issues and to make recommendations to City Council.

Later that year, the City Council approved the creation of the new board, laying out its duties and membership requirements.

State law requires that the board reflect the demographic diversity of the city. After interviews with more than a dozen applicants, a city panel appointed 11 conditional members in December, pending the completion of the training organized by the police department.

The City Council was informed on Tuesday that two members of the board recently withdrew for personal reasons.

Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten, who served on the interview panel, said its members will reconvene to interview candidates who previously applied. It’s unlikely the replacements will be appointed before the training begins, but they’ll be able to make up the hours, Wooten said in a phone interview last week.

At the council meeting, Wooten suggested City Council develop a trustworthy policy for filling vacancies on the Independent Citizens Review Board going forward.

“We want to make sure we have a transparent process and a board that ensures there’s trust in the community,” she said.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com