Saying he would bring an “important perspective” to the conversation around criminal justice reform, Virginia’s governor on Tuesday named Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone to a state panel tasked with recommending public safety policy.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Boone’s appointment during a press conference in Richmond, praising him for marching with demonstrators during a protest calling for police reform in Norfolk last week.
“Chief Boone has worked throughout his career to forge relationships and build trust between citizens and law enforcement,” Northam said. “He’s a reformer.”
Boone, who was named the chief of police in December 2016 after nearly three decades with the agency, also serves on the state’s African American Advisory Board, which was created last year. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
The bipartisan crime commission, made up mostly of state legislators and a few governor-appointed citizens, was in the spotlight last summer when Republicans — then in the majority in the General Assembly — quickly ended a specially-called session on gun control. The session had been called in the wake of the Virginia Beach mass shooting, but legislators punted all proposed firearm legislation to the commission.
The commission came up with no recommendations for any of the gun control legislation after studying the issue for months, citing “inconclusive evidence.”
Since Democrats took over the General Assembly in January, they passed a slew of bills requiring the commission to study several issues, including records expungement for certain crimes and parole reinstatement.
But the commission has yet to meet in 2020, according to its website. The chairman is still listed as Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn said a new chair will be selected during the next meeting. It will likely be Democratic Del. Charniele Herring, the chair of the Courts of Justice committee. A staffer for the commission did not immediately respond to questions about when the next meeting will take place.
Earlier this year, a couple Democratic state lawmakers suggested renaming the Virginia State Crime Commission to the Virginia State Justice Commission and adding a number of areas they wanted the commission to study, including diversion, rehabilitation, reentry, collateral consequences of conviction, gun violence prevention, and equity and fairness in the criminal legal system. That legislation did not make it out of House and Senate committees.
In a statement following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus said the crime commission was structured to take action on suggesting ways to change criminal justice policy.
“It’s imperative that this commission is representative of leaders that have a proven record of tearing down institutional racism in our criminal justice system,” the caucus said. “This commission must meet immediately to consider the policies before them that will put in place proactive measures to ensure justice.”
In its statement, the caucus included a link to a February report from the Minnesota working group focused on police-involved deadly force encounters. The report includes 28 recommendations for reducing such encounters, which the Virginia black caucus said it supports.
At a press conference in early June following several days of protests against police brutality, one of the members of the black caucus, Richmond Del. Dolores McQuinn, said there would soon be a “brand new” criminal justice commission in the next three weeks that would focus on criminal justice legislation that has failed in the General Assembly in the past.
“I can promise you there will be a difference in terms of legislation and implementation of those things that we know can get passed through the General Assembly,” she said.
Lori Haas, a gun control advocate since her daughter was shot during the mass shooting at Virginia Tech and the state director from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, was also named to the commission.
“Public safety is more important than ever right now, and we have an opportunity to reform the system and save lives,” she said in a statement. “At such a critical time, I am eager to contribute to the Virginia State Crime Commission’s mission of public safety for all and look forward to opportunities for reform in many areas.”
Larry Terry, the executive director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, was also named to the commission. Northam said Terry has experience working to help inmates who are released return to society.
Terry, Boone and Haas will replace Lunenburg County Sheriff Arthur Townsend, Mansi J. Shah of the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and John Venuti, the associate vice president of public safey for Virginia Commonwealth University.
Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, malbiges@dailypress.com