Alexandria City Council Approves ICPRB Investigation Request on July 31, 2026
Alexandria City Council Legislative Meeting Summary – July 31, 2026
Note: The meeting agenda lists this as a July 29, 2026 session; however, the stipulated date for this summary is July 31, 2026.
The Alexandria City Council held a special legislative meeting on July 31, 2026. After opening with a roll call, pledge of allegiance, and the unanimous approval of an electronic participation resolution allowing Vice Mayor Bagley to attend virtually, the Council considered its sole substantive agenda item: a request from the Independent Community Policing Review Board (ICPRB) to authorize the Independent Police Auditor (IPA) to conduct additional investigation into the in-custody death of Alan Tucker Jr. The Council unanimously approved the request after clarifying the scope of work and legal constraints regarding the confidentiality of disciplinary recommendations.
Discussion Items
- ICPRB Request for Additional Investigation (Item 27-1183): The IPA presented the background of the case. Following a public hearing on June 29, 2026, the ICPRB reconvened on July 1, 2026, and voted to recommend additional investigation in three areas: (1) further review of the supervising sergeant's involvement in the incident, (2) clarification of the Alexandria Police Department's (APD) training structure—specifically when refresher training for body-worn cameras and medical transport was last provided, and (3) revision of the public report to include an explanation for the exclusion of the auditor's disciplinary recommendations, citing the legal authority that supports that exclusion. The board subsequently sent a formal letter to the Council expanding on these points and adding a fourth area related to the Sheriff's Office.
- Legal Constraints on Public Disciplinary Information: During Council deliberation, Vice Mayor Bagley asked the City Attorney to clarify the legal limits for the public report. The City Attorney explained that while the ICPRB can access and discuss disciplinary recommendations in closed session (facilitated by new state law HB 1476), the city ordinance and law require that specific disciplinary findings and recommendations remain confidential and cannot be made public in the auditor's report. The City Attorney recommended the motion direct the auditor to include an explanation for the exclusion of recommendations. Councilman O'Nuby questioned whether the ordinance and an associated MOU conflicted, to which the City Attorney acknowledged the MOU contained a mistake to be rectified in August. Councilwoman Marks shared the public's desire for transparency on accountability measures but acknowledged the legal constraints. The auditor confirmed the report would include a public education component explaining why the recommendations are confidential.
- Motion and Friendly Amendment: Councilman Aguirre made the initial motion to approve the auditor's request. Councilwoman Marks offered a friendly amendment, accepted by the mover and seconder (Councilman Chapman), to explicitly refer to the board's formal letter and a separate letter from the Sheriff to ensure the full scope of the board's requests was addressed.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Approval (7-0): The Council voted unanimously to authorize the Independent Police Auditor to proceed with the requested additional investigation.
- Scope of Work Defined: The approved motion incorporates the requests from the board's formal letter. The auditor is directed to conduct the investigation with attention to the identified areas, but the final public report will not contain specific disciplinary recommendations due to confidentiality. Instead, an explanation for the omission of these recommendations will be included in the report.
- Timeline: The auditor stated this investigation is a top priority and aims to complete it within 30 days, targeting a presentation at the board's September 2026 meeting.
Meeting Transcript
It is seven o'clock. We are going to officially call our legislative meeting to order. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Mayor Gaskins. Yeah. Vice Mayor Bagley. Here. Councilman Gearing. Present. Councilman Chapman. Councilman O'Nuby. Here. Councilwoman Green. Councilman Marks. Yeah. All right. Madam Clerk, next item. Approval of electronic participation resolution by council. So moved. Second. Okay. There has been a motion by Councilman Aguirre and a second by Councilman Chapman to approve the electronic participation of Vice Mayor Mayor Sarah Bagley. This is a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Councilman Akearing. Councilman Chapman. Mayor Gaskins. Aye. Vice Mayor Bagley. Aye. Councilman El Newby. All right. At this time, it is our practice that we begin each meeting with a moment of silence, followed by the pledge. If you are able to stand, I ask that you please rise at this moment. Okay, at this time we are going to prepare to move into our business for the evening. I do want to remind everyone that this is a legislative meeting, not a public hearing. So we will not have public testimony. Madam Clerk, please call the next item. Consideration of a request from the independent police independent community policing review board to conduct an additional investigation. Okay, I'm going to turn it over to our independent police auditor to um orient everybody to the reason why we are here tonight. Great. Uh good evening, Mayor Gaskins, Vice Mayor Bagley, members of City Council, and members of the Tucker family that are joining us today. Thank you for holding this special meeting. Back on June 29th, 20 2026, the independent community police review board held a public hearing after receiving the auditor's final report on the in-custody death of Alan Tucker Jr. Um at the conclusion of the public hearing, the board had four options under the city code section two four two two seven C4. Um section, the board can do one of four things following a public hearing. The first is concur with some or all of the findings in the report. Two is advise the city that the AIPA's findings, the auditor's findings are not supported by the information reasonably available, and then to advise that um further review or consideration by the police chief. The second is to advise the city that the auditors report in the George in the board's judgment, um, the investigation is uh incomplete and therefore recommend additional investigation or information. And then lastly, uh the board may recommend referral of the complaint to the commonwealth of commonwealth's attorney's office.
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