Throughout these challenging times the country has seen unprecedented changes establishing accountability within local law enforcement after the tragic death of George Floyd in May. Earlier this month, the PW Perspective discussed how the county’s Citizens Advisory Board has been instrumental in providing feedback on the actions of the Prince William County Police Department regarding its procedures. In the town of Dumfries, a measure has been proposed with the purpose of preventing another situation like the one in Minneapolis and other places from occurring.

During the August 5th Dumfries Public Hearing, Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson presented a motion to direct the Town Manager Keith Rogers, Jr. to work with public safety professionals to review police policies and procedures, particularly the Use of Force, De-Escalation, and Enhance Community Relations. The motion was seconded by Councilman Brian Fields and passed with a vote of 6-1. The lone dissenting vote was by Councilman Cliff Brewer, who cited that the general orders of Section 34.21 needed to be reviewed first before proceeding with the motion. The general orders, which have not been updated since 2013, reads as follows:

“The chief of police, in consultation with and approval of the town manager, shall prepare general orders for the police force of the town not inconsistent with state law, the Town Charter, this Code or other ordinance of the town and shall submit them to the town council for approval. When any such general orders, so prepared, have been approved by the council, such general order(s) shall be in full force and effect.” State Law reference— Duties of policemen as to town ordinances and regulations, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1704. For more information, please click on the link.

We spoke with Vice Mayor Nickerson on the importance of this proposal, and she provided us with the following statement:

“Our Dumfries police rarely use force. There have been no excessive force complaints in our department in almost 20 years. That in itself is a testament to the stellar police force we have here in Dumfries. Our Dumfries Police department has and continues to pride itself on community policing, and they work tirelessly to ensure community engagement and positivity in the day to day operations. But as we know, every department and every officer is one bad decision away from tragedy.”

She continues on, “Therefore, the purpose of this action is to proactively build better relationships between law enforcement and our community by reviewing our current use of force policies and reforming them as needed. We want our police procedures to encourage de-escalation as a primary course of action to prevent any use of force, and lastly, but equally important, we want to build our community relations so our department and community can work together to maintain Dumfries as one of the safest places in the state of Virginia.”

“This action is the beginning of a process of building police reform towards ending unnecessary fatalities at the hands of police due to excessive force and combating a systemic culture of aggression and use of force.”

Nickerson also discusses the inspiration of not only this motion, but also emphasizes how she wants to utilize her position as Vice Mayor to create real change in the community and beyond.

“As a leader, I took the pledge with President (Barack) Obama’s Foundation for the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to commit to action to address police use of force policies in my Town. I am always looking for an opportunity to improve the community and come up with solutions to make Dumfries a better place to live.”

“I refuse to just complain, I want to contribute!”

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