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Portsmouth — Portsmouth police were supposed to drop an investigation into a June protest and vandalism at the Confederate monument, and City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton didn’t know charges were coming until officers took out warrants against 14 people earlier this week, Pettis Patton told council members in an email Wednesday.
The email was made public in a Facebook post by Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, whose mother, state Sen. Louise Lucas, was among those charged with felonies stemming from the June 10 protest. A school board member, local NAACP leaders and several public defenders also were charged.
In her email, Pettis Patton wrote that Chief Angela Greene “reported a Conflict of Interest” relating to an investigation into the protests, although she did not say what that conflict was. City Attorney Solomon Ashby briefed council members on the conflict, Pettis Patton wrote.
“When a city official acknowledges a Conflict of Interest, by law, they must cease all activities on the matter. Otherwise, their participation will likely comprise (sic) the city’s interest,” the city manager wrote.
The Virginian-Pilot could not immediately verify that the conflict exists or that there’s any documentation. Pettis Patton, Greene and City Attorney Solomon Ashby could not immediately be reached Wednesday evening.
In her email, Pettis Patton said it was her “clear understanding” that Portsmouth police would end their involvement in the investigation.
“I was surprised and troubled when I was informed that despite acknowledging a Conflict of Interest, Chief Greene and members of the Police Department continued to be engaged without my knowledge,” Pettis Patton wrote.
The city manager said “proper protocol” would have been for her and the city attorney to have been advised “of a matter of such significance.” She said Greene told her about the charges only as officers were taking out warrants at the Magistrate’s Office.
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But at a rally Wednesday night in support of those charged, Lucas-Burke gave a different account of what happened before the charges were made public. She said Greene was advised by Ashby in a closed-door meeting Aug. 4 not to pursue any charges because doing so would pose a conflict that would prevent him from representing her in any litigation that might stem from the charges.
“Dr. Patton — her hands are tied,” Lucas-Burke said. “(Greene) will have to get her own attorney.”
During the meeting, Lucas-Burke said all council members unanimously agreed that the city should stop pursuing criminal charges except for Bill Moody, who was “madder than a hornet” and insisted that police should abide by the rule of law.
“She was told not to arrest. She was told she had a conflict,” Lucas-Burke said. “And she agreed.”
Wednesday night’s rally, attended by about 100 people, was organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Steering Committee — a political action group that backs many of the city’s most powerful Black elected officials. The group, which included Lucas-Burke, Del. Don Scott and Councilman Shannon Glover, called for Greene’s resignation.
“As we stand before you we have a multiplicity of unanswered questions that the city management team nor the police chief Angela Greene have yet to answer,” said Rev. Milton R. Blount of New Mount Olivet Baptist Church, who leads the PAC. “We have seen this movie before. When you can’t recall a strong leader and when you cannot co-opt or control a strong leader, the next step is to use the police department to impugn their character and make it look like they have committed a crime.”
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Lucas-Burke expressed frustration that neither Pettis Patton nor Ashby knew the charges were coming before the police department made them public early this week.
“The city manager knew nothing about it and the city attorney knew nothing about it and nobody knows nothing about it, then who’s running the ... city?” she said to cheers and applause. “I’m angry because we want some answers.”
The city’s top prosecutor, Stephanie Morales, also was unaware charges were coming. At a news conference Monday, Greene announced that police were charging 14 people with felony injury to a monument. Eight of them also face a felony conspiracy charge.
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On June 10, demonstrators started spray painting the monument ahead of a rally planned for that evening. As the protest continued, the City Council postponed a decision on whether to move the monument, which the city has debated for years. The City Council has since voted to move it.
Later that night, protesters beheaded four statues of soldiers on the monument and pulled one down with a tow rope. A protester, 46-year-old Chris Green, was seriously injured.
At her Monday news conference, Greene said she asked State Police to investigate because the man sustained life-threatening injuries.
She said requests were made for state and federal help to conduct an independent investigation, but those requests “fell outside of the scope” of those law enforcement agencies.
After state police finished their investigation July 22, a “team of detectives and supervisors” compiled evidence, Greene said.
Margaret Matray, 757-222-5216, margaret.matray@pilotonline.com
Ana Ley, 757-446-2478, ana.ley@pilotonline.com