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Virginia Beach — Questions about conflicts of interest arise yet again after a former Virginia Beach deputy city manager has been appointed to a 21-member commission tasked with independently investigating the Virginia Beach mass shooting.
The Senate Rules Committee added Steve Cover to the commission. Cover retired from the city in 2020 but oversaw the Virginia Beach Police Department while the city was conducting its own investigation into the mass shooter who shot 16 people, killing 12, before also dying in a shootout with police on May 31, 2019.
The Senate Rules Committee also appointed James Thomas, a former Virginia Beach police detective who retired in 2018. He joins a former colleague on the commission, John Bell, who retired in 2016 as a deputy chief of the Virginia Beach Police Department.
In December, Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle was removed from commission after The Virginian-Pilot reported his conflict. At that time, Susan Clarke Schaar, the Senate Clerk, said the appointment shouldn’t have been approved because legislation excluded the appointment of elected officials.
The Governor’s Office, Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, which each had the authority to appoint members, were also instructed to make every effort “to ensure that appointees do not have a conflict of interest yet can provide the best insight into their specialization.”
Regarding the recent appointments, Clarke Schaar said in an email: “it would not be appropriate for me to comment on a decision made by the committee.”
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In a text message, Senate Rules Committee Chair Mamie Locke said she could not recall which senator requested the appointment of Cover, but “apparently the individual nominating him thought it was appropriate to do so. Committee members do not question the motives of suggestions from other committee members.”
Jacqueline Hixson, the spokesperson for the Senate Democrats, said the Senate Rules Committee met privately to discuss nominations to the mass shooting commission so meeting minutes are not available. She said the identity of the member who made the initial nomination also was not available.
Jason Nixon, whose wife Kate was killed during the shooting, said he is concerned that people with ties to Virginia Beach city government and police have been selected to be on the commission. Nixon and his family advocated for the General Assembly to create the commission because he said the city was not transparent during its investigation.
“I didn’t want anyone from Virginia Beach involved,” Nixon said. “That was the whole point in having a state investigation. Is this going to be contaminated too?”
The commission has enough members to begin its work. But a date has not been set for the first meeting, Clarke Schaar said.
On Friday, the governor announced 10 additional appointments: Robert Gray Bracknell of Norfolk, a retired officer of the United States Marine Corps; David Cariens of Kilmarnock, a retired officer of the Central Intelligence Agency; Walden University professor Rebecca G. Cowan of Chesapeake, and the owner of Anchor Counseling and Wellness.; Veteran and business owner Richard Diviney of Virginia Beach; Bob Geis of Virginia Beach, a Chesapeake deputy city manager; United States Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jaison A. Harris of Occoquan; Jim Redick of Norfolk, director of Norfolk’s emergency preparedness and response; Ryant Washington of Fluvanna County, former Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge David J. Whitted of Chesapeake; and Kristofer J.W. Chester of Virginia Beach, an enterprise architect at Verizon, who has more than 25 years of experience in the defense industry with backgrounds in Special Operations, National Intelligence and Geospatial Intelligence industries.
Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.