Group Wants Civilian Review Board
What: Demonstration for Civilian Review Board
When: Wednesday, June 15 at 5 p.m.
Where: 442 W. Washington St., in front of Suffolk City Hall
Suffolk, Va. – Virginia Organizing’s Suffolk Chapter will hold a demonstration on Wednesday, June 15 at 5 p.m. in front of Suffolk City Hall to demand a meeting with Mayor Michael Duman. The group has been calling for Suffolk to have a civilian review board. People who have experienced discrimination from the police in Suffolk are encouraged to attend.
“The chapter is calling on Mayor Duman and City Manager Moor to establish a civilian review board,” said Vonita Williams, a leader in the Suffolk Chapter. “We have been contacting the mayor by email and phone, and he has refused to return calls from leaders in the community. With shootings on the rise and people concerned about safety in their communities, we need to rebuild trust between the police department and the people they’re supposed to serve.
“What is a civilian review board? It’sa municipal body composed of citizen representatives charged with the investigation of complaints by members of the public concerning misconduct by police officers. The community of Suffolk needs this. The old way doesn’t work.
“We’ve been working on this for almost two years. In March, Mayor Duman committed to a conversation with Virginia Organizing about his vision for a board. Since then, we’ve heard nothing. Clearly, this isn’t a priority for our current city leadership,” Williams said.
Marvin Jacobs, another leader and a returning citizen who has been discriminated against by Suffolk police, said, “Why is the mayor avoiding our calls and emails? I guess black lives don’t matter. Doesn’t the mayor understand that establishing a cilivan review board would bridge the gap between the community and the Suffolk police department? The community and the police department could build public trust together.”
In the last decade, multiple high-profile police killings, like that of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and George Floyd in Minneapolis, inspired nationwide uprisings. Each uprising came with its own set of demands, but one constant was the call to actually eliminate police brutality. The Suffolk Chapter of Virginia Organizing has been working on criminal and police reform since 2020 because members have experienced police brutality and discrimination themselves.
“We spoke with some city council members and some are in support of establishing a civilian review board,” said Cleo Johnson, a chapter leader. “I can’t understand why the mayor is dragging his feet. How many black lives have to be lost to bad policing? If white people were being killed at the hands of law enforcement at the same rate it would be a different story.
“In November of last year, Virginia Beach City Council voted to establish a civilian review board with subpoena powers. Mayor Duman ought to follow their example, but it seems that he and City Manager Moor, Councilman Goldberg, Councilman Johnson, and Councilman Williams don’t want to disrupt the good old boy system. Thank you, Councilwoman Barlow, Councilman Ward, Vice Mayor Bennett, and Councilman Fawcett for meeting with us,” Johnson said.
To interview a spokesperson for this event, contact Tony Jones at 757-660-6080 or tjones@virginia-organizing.org.
