Virginia Beach police are scaling back foot patrols at the Oceanfront amid manpower issues and concerns over officer safety.
During a special session Thursday of City Council, Interim Police Chief Anthony Zucaro said he had significantly increased the presence of officers in the resort area since May 31 when police and protesters clashed on Atlantic Avenue and teargas was deployed to disperse the crowd.
But he said anti-police sentiment has grown significantly in the city since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd while in the custody of law enforcement in Minneapolis. So has directed officers to double up in patrol cars.
The chief also prefers officers use bicycles, horses and small and large motorized vehicles to move more quickly up and down Atlantic Avenue.
“They are being verbally abused,” Zucaro said of his officers. He said crowds are sometimes surrounding and even touching them.
“We are having little regard for even the simple request for compliance,” he said.
To illustrate his point, the chief showed council members a video without sound of an interaction about 1:15 a.m. Sunday. Zucaro said it showed a couple officers standing near a crosswalk surrounded by a crowd. One man was carrying a boombox, as they sang a song “that starts with an f and ends with a k and the police. You can fill the blanks,” Zucaro said.
The change in police procedure comes amid a spike in violent crime at the Oceanfront, which has seen six shootings since May 31. Ten people were injured and one killed, police said.
Vice Mayor Jim Wood said what is occurring at the Oceanfront is unacceptable. Council members expressed support for police and Wood asked what the council could do to help.
Zucaro said he needs the council to come up with ways to solve tensions with the community beyond policing.
“We can not solve this by arrest alone,” Zucaro said. “I would seek this body to engage the community where we can. Let’s look at efforts beyond being police-centric.”
Councilman Aaron Rouse agreed that the council needs to take responsibility for helping solve inequality. He said there’s too much pressure placed on the police, and not enough on elected officials.
“It is unfortunate that we are in this place in America that the civil unrest and the racial tensions are so high right now,” Rouse said. “It would be a misstep for our city to think that we are immune from that or that we cannot improve our policing.”
As for foot patrols, Councilman Guy Tower said he had spoken with several members of the hospitality industry who have reported seeing fewer officers walking the streets. Those business owners, he said, would like to see more officers on foot because they feel it deescalates situations.
While Virginia Beach won’t have an official display of fireworks this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July, the city still expects tens of thousands of visitors to the Oceanfront.
Zucaro said the weekend will take a lot of resources to manage traffic and crowds. He said officers will be on foot, but he is reluctant to have them there due to the “turbulent times right now.”
“We are coming up with some strategies that will not only address additional resources, but first and foremost, it is going to address the safety of my women and men in the department,” he said. “My first job is to make sure they go home safe.”
Alissa Skelton, 757-222-5155, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.