Good morning, RVA: 1,505↗️ • 4↘️; Civilian Review Board ordinance passes; and an opportunity to help

Good morning, RVA! It’s 78 °F, and you know the drill. Expect highs in the mid 90s and a soupy atmosphere. Keep an eye out for some rain later this evening, though.

Water cooler

As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,505↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 4↘️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 167↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 36, Henrico: 81, and Richmond: 50). Since this pandemic began, 280 people have died in the Richmond region. This is a lot of new cases—the second most ever reported in a single day (May 26th posted a record 1,615 cases). The VDH website does have this message pinned to the top of the page: “The Virginia Electronic Disease Surveillance System was down for a few hours this weekend for planned maintenance. Today’s case number reflects cases that were not entered into the system during that time, in addition to cases entered in the last 24 hours.” So maybe take this morning’s new-case numbers with a grain of salt.

Last night, City Council took up four of the five police reform papers and ended up passing the Civilian Review Board ordinance (ORD. 2020–155) and the Marcus Alert resolution (RES. 2020-R045), continuing the resolution to report on asset forfeiture special funds (RES. 2020-R046), and voting down the resolution to take the tiniest step towards defunding the police in the form of a simple report (RES. 2020-R047). Make no mistake, the big vote last night was on the CRB ordinance—the only ordinance of the bunch—and it passed unanimously. So, while the majority of discussion and disappointment falls around the failure of the resolution to begin defunding the police, the fact of the matter is that RES. 2020-R047 was just that: a non-binding resolution, and one that just asked the CAO for a report on a fairly limited slice of the Richmond Police Department’s operational budget. It didn’t in any way actually reduce the RPD’s budget. We can do better! The real meat of defunding the police begins with the budget the (potentially new) Mayor submits to (the potentially new) Council next spring. While it certainly sounds like the sitting Council has no real interest in defunding the police, conveniently, when the majority voted against this resolution last night, they gave their electoral opponents an easy issue to run on. So, if I were to plot out some next steps on how to defund the Richmond Police Department it’d be: 0) Demand a detailed report on how the RPD currently spends their $100 million budget; 1) Ask every single candidate running for City Council or Mayor to go on the record about how they’ll treat the police’s line item in the next budget or two; 2) Work with the newly elected folks in the winter and spring to build the support and cover that they’ll need to vote on a slimmer police budget. Also, keep in mind that the money freed up by reallocating money away from the police will most likely not be enough to provide the actual services the City actually needs. That kind of money can only come from increasing the property tax, so get ready for that conversation, too. Oh, also! The Public Safety committee will meet today at 12:00 PM after a several month hiatus. They’ll consider RES. 2020-R048, which would ask the RPD to ban the use of certain chemical and less lethal weapons to control unlawful assemblies. If you holler at the City Clerk before 10:00 AM you can get on the list to speak for this paper ([email protected]).

Over the weekend, the RTD’s Sabrina Moreno had a good piece about the Mending Walls RVA project that’ll throw up murals on 16 new walls across the City. The three that have already gone up focus on Black lives and you can check them out on the Mending Walls RVA instagram before putting together your own mini mural scavenger hunt.

Would you like to create an art installation for UMFS to install at the entrance of their under-construction Broad Street property? Think about it: A giant T-Rex eating a car that gives a nod in solidarity to each Pulse bus that passes by. Or I’m sure your ideas are good, too. Interested artists can check out this RFP and get it filled out by this Friday.

Here’s an opportunity to help. As the Southern summer has turned Richmond into the surface of the sun, the Daily Planetneeds folks to donate bottled water and pre-packaged, single-serving snacks for distribution among folks experiencing homelessness. You can drop off flats of water and snacks in the parking lot of the Daily Planet (517 W. Grace Street) from 8:30 AM–12:00 PM until Friday. If you need to schedule another time you can call 804.783.2505x230.

The Richmond City / Henrico County Health Districts will host free COVID-19 testing today at the Southwood Management Property Office (1400 Southwood Parkway) from 9:00–11:00 AM and 4:00–6:00 PM. Make sure you give their hotline a ring before heading over at 804.205.3501. Thursday’s testing event will take place at Tuckahoe Middle School from 9:00–11:00 AM.

This morning’s patron longread

Could This City Hold the Key to the Future of Policing in America?

Submitted by Patron Lisa. In light of last night’s mixed bag of a Council meeting, this piece is a good reminder that reforming the police is hard work. You’ve probably heard about Camden, NJ, but even their fire-and-rehire-all-the-cops strategy didn’t magically solve all of their policing problems.

As officials across the United States face demands to transform policing, many have turned to a small New Jersey city that did what some activists are calling for elsewhere: dismantled its police force and built a new one that stresses a less confrontational approach toward residents who are mostly Black and Latino. The Camden Police Department’s efforts to reduce its use of force have made it one of the most compelling turnaround stories in U.S. law enforcement. The changes have led to a stark reduction in the number of excessive-force complaints against the police and have helped drive down the murder rate in what was once one of America’s most dangerous cities.

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