Public Safety Standing Committee Meeting - February 25, 2026
Public Safety Standing Committee Meeting - February 25, 2026
The Public Safety Standing Committee of the Richmond City Council met on February 25, 2026, at approximately 2:45 PM. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, public comment on numerous topics, discussion of the Flock Safety camera contract, a crime statistics presentation, and an update on emergency management improvements following the January 2025 water crisis. No formal votes were taken on the Flock contract or Shockoe Bottom safety measures, but the committee forwarded a red light camera ordinance to full council and approved board vacancy recommendations.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the October 28, 2025, Public Safety Standing Committee meeting were approved as presented without amendment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Penny Page (Richmond resident) opposed the city's contract with Flock Security, citing nationwide misuse of data (e.g., stalking, unauthorized immigration enforcement) and the lack of evidence that the technology reduces crime. She argued that new state laws will not deter habitual offenders and urged cancellation.
- Morgan Haifer (former bike courier) criticized the city's bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, claiming high deaths and ineffective planning despite high spending. He called for better traffic enforcement and coordination with police.
- Mike Weish (5th district) opposed Flock cameras, arguing that crime has been declining before their installation and that the technology is prone to abuse (e.g., immigration enforcement searches). He noted nearly 3,000 searches from Virginia's Flock network for immigration purposes.
- Amante Goncello (6th district) opposed Flock, stating it constitutes mass surveillance, does not prevent crime, and has been abused (e.g., in Evanston, IL, and for abortion-related searches). He argued the city cannot guarantee data security.
- Juan Braxton (5th district, NAACP criminal justice chair) supported keeping the Flock contract, saying it helps solve crimes and that privacy concerns are similar to cell phone tracking. He acknowledged imperfections but emphasized its value for families seeking justice.
- Jackie Bishop Wells (6th district, business owner in Shockoe Bottom) requested moving the police enforcement window back to 11 PM–4 AM, defining Shockoe Bottom as an entertainment district, and focusing enforcement on non-alcoholic gathering spaces after 2 AM. She reported nine shootings and two fatalities the prior weekend and noted increasing empty storefronts.
- Ezadina Lassad (Yemeni American Association of Virginia) opposed the city's Operation Vaporize, which has shut down over 60 small businesses (mostly immigrant-owned) for minor violations. He requested a pause on non-emergency closures and a collaborative framework. He and others noted that many closures occurred without warning or clear reasons.
- Salah Al Assad (son of Dean Al Assad) echoed concerns about business closures, requesting a temporary halt, defined cure periods, and a meeting with city council and mayor's office within 14 days.
- Other speakers (including a representative of the Arab community, a business owner whose store was closed that day, and a 65-year-old owner of three businesses) described devastating financial impacts and alleged systematic targeting of minority communities.
- Christine Gibson (5th/8th districts) supported Flock cameras, arguing they aid investigations, and criticized high property taxes.
- Mike Byrne (4th district, former restaurant owner) argued that Shockoe Bottom issues stem from non-enforcement of ABC laws, not just police presence. He called for license enforcement and criticized the ambassador program.
- Charles Willis (United Communities Against Crime) supported Flock cameras, citing their role in solving homicides and hit-and-runs. He also announced a Walk for Peace on February 27, 2026.
Discussion Items
- Crime Statistics Review (Chief Rick Edwards): Chief Edwards presented 2026 crime data: overall major crimes down 12%, violent crime flat (murders flat, non-fatal shootings down 15%), property crime up 2% (driven by shoplifting and vape shop robberies). He noted that Flock technology contributed to solving the murder of Tanasia Humphreys (2022) and the rapid arrest of suspects in the murders of Marvin Ramos Hernandez and Darnell Christian. He also addressed privacy concerns, stating that new state law (HB 2724, effective July 1, 2025) criminalizes misuse, limits data retention to 21 days, and prohibits sharing with federal agencies. Chief Edwards emphasized that 99 fixed ALPRs in Richmond (4.2 per 10,000 residents) are not comprehensive tracking, and federal courts have upheld their use. He also noted that the department has seen a 40% reduction in murders since 2021 (90 to 54) and 30% reduction in non-fatal shootings since Flock deployment.
- Shockoe Bottom Safety: Council members discussed short-term and long-term solutions, including additional cameras, officers, exploring a police substation, and an ambassador program. The chief noted that the outdoor refreshment area (ORA) approach may not be legally viable for creating a permanent gun-free zone. He highlighted that all guns in the recent mass shooting were retrieved from cars, and that 82 gun arrests were made in Shockoe Bottom in 2025. Council President Newbill confirmed a meeting with businesses scheduled for February 26, 2026, to discuss immediate actions.
- Emergency Management Update (Director Stephen Willoughby): Willoughby reported on progress implementing 74 recommendations from the Haggerty incident response assessment following the January 2025 water crisis. Key improvements include: formalized EOC activation and staffing, a new multi-agency coordination center, adoption of the Everbridge mass notification system (now with over 10,000 Richmond Ready subscribers), enhanced public information procedures, and development of an integrated preparedness plan. He noted ongoing challenges, such as software gaps and the need for pre-identified drivers for winter weather. The updated Emergency Operations Plan will be presented to council in June 2026. The Office of Emergency Management currently has five staff, with a recommendation for seven to ten.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: The October 28, 2025, meeting minutes were approved.
- Board Vacancy Recommendations: The committee voted (3-0) to recommend Nicole Raleigh for the Richmond MLK Authority and reappoint Crystal Fitzgerald to the Community Criminal Justice Board. The motion was approved.
- Ordinance 2025-287 (Traffic Signal Enforcement Program): The committee voted (3-0) to forward the ordinance to the full council with a recommendation to approve. The ordinance establishes how civil penalties from red light cameras will be allocated, with funding directed to Vision Zero initiatives and staffing for the program.
- No Formal Votes on Flock or Shockoe Bottom: The committee heard public testimony and discussed the Flock contract and Shockoe Bottom safety, but no motions were made to change existing policies. The chief affirmed that the contract is annual and could be ended if the vendor fails to meet standards.
- Continued Oversight: Council members indicated they will follow up with the administration on business closures and emergency management staffing. A meeting with Shockoe Bottom stakeholders is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. We were now called to order this meeting of the public safety standing committee. I will now begin by reading the chamber emergency evacuation plan announcement and public speaker guidelines. Upon activation emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exit to the left, right, or front of the council chamber or the east of West Stairworlds outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. At the exit in the building, security would direct everyone down 9th Street to the assembly area located inside the former public safety building parking lot. Able persons should assist visually inherent a pair of visitors with exiting the building. Persons wishing to speak during the public comment period or public hearings are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before the committee are now allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature, which is also demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties or just to question staff members directly. All questions to be directed to the committee chair. Faithy here to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any many time and further displaying action as necessary, which couldn't include barring from attendance and future meetings of the committee for a period of six months. This concludes the announcements, and we will now um go on to the approval of the minutes going a little bit out of order. Um the minutes to be approved are from the October 28th, 2025 public safety standing committee meeting. If there are no amendments or corrections, you know, meeting minutes stand approved as presented. Those minutes have been approved. We will now open up the floor for public comment. Is there anyone here that would like to provide comment for items not for um anything not on today's agenda? Please approach the podium and form a light at the podium and state your name for the record and please speak clearly. Hi there. My name is Penny Page. Um I'm here to talk about the city's contract with Flock Security. Um I helped in part to organize uh efforts to get the city's contract with Flock canceled, and I want to make clear that I did so um in effort to help um efforts being led by police across Virginia and across the country. I was a little bit concerned to see uh in the media and other places this effort being uh depicted as some kind of anti-police movement, which is so far from the truth. I personally, well, I'm not speaking on behalf of my employer. I've worked professionally with the police in several contexts. I um so happy to have uh their collaboration on so many projects. I believe, especially in the work done by Richmond City police, uh, and that they're trying to adhere, I've seen over and over again to the best practices in police and use the best proven methods to achieve public safety. Um, notably an attempt to focus on repeated violent offenders because a pattern of habitual offense demonstrates the behavior that cannot be adjusted without preventing this person from inflicting further harm on the community. And that's kind of really the exact issue with FLOC. The pattern of the misuse of this data, it's happened again and again all across the country. Um this data's been used to by people trying to stalk their ex-girlfriends. Um it's been authorized, it's been accessed without authorization by immigration. We haven't been able to stop that in our own city, in fact. Um I do know that there is a uh legislative attempt to fix this. Uh passing a new law, though, is not going to change the behavior of someone who habitually breaks the law. Um, and that is important. We tell victims of uh crimes, they're very often told a protective order is an important tool, but to a habitual offender, it is ultimately just a piece of paper. And to a habitual offender like Flock, this new law is just a piece of paper. Um I mean, that is in addition to uh the fact that there is no proof this technology is really effective. I'm very uh concerned about the fact that Flock does tend to point to anecdotal evidence. There are cases where crimes have been solved and their technology has been used in the course of solving that crime, but those do not reflect a larger trend. Uh the research uh on the effectiveness of this technology is mixed at best. That's generous to say. Um it's uh there's no clear trend that communities that have this technology are safer because of it. Uh-y seconds. Oh, thank you. I mean, I could tell you uh anecdotal cases of specific people who smoke cigarettes until they're 80 years old, but that does not mean that people who smoke cigarettes do not get cancer. Um thank you. I'm uh here asking that you cancel the uh city's contract with Flock.
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