After a string of police shootings in Fairfax County, a community task force was assigned to review the police department and present some suggested improvements.
Now, that new set of reform recommendations is under review by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and headed to the office of Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis before he shares his take with the Board.
The recent deadly police shooting of a suspected shoplifter, Timothy Johnson, brought attention back to police practices, as the working group began its examinations amid an uptick in police shootings in the county.
"Timothy Johnson's unfortunate death highlights and reminds us of the urgency of this conversation," said Pastor Vernon Walton, a member of the working group that put together the suggestions.
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The group began with 300 suggestions from the community, then distilled them into a report just presented to the Board of Supervisors public safety committee.
"This report in no way indicates a lack of confidence in our Fairfax County police," Walton said during a meeting on Tuesday. "What we do note is there are some things that need to be addressed."
One of the biggest recommendations from the group is that anytime an officer points a gun at a civilian or suspect, the action be reported to the community as a use of force.
"We feel that when an officer points at gun at an individual, that's an actual use of force and should be recorded and reported to the community as a use of force," said Phil Niedzielski-Eichner, another member of the working group.
A police spokesman told News4's Julie Carey that the department is already collecting data on any use of a firearm.
Also as a result of the deadly shooting that killed Johnson, Davis announced his department was starting work to create a foot pursuit policy. The working group has asked that the policy be fast tracked with a report to the community within 45 days.
Other specific police shootings have played a part in the working group's recommendations: Aaron Lynch was killed in 2022 when he came at police with a wooden mask and bottle while suffering a mental health crisis.
The working group wants to see cases like that increasingly handled by clinicians and social work teams -- not police officers.
They also suggested that the Board of Supervisors give the police civilian review panel more authority. That would be allowed under recent legislation in Virginia.
"The information they review is given to them by the police," said Walton. "They are not allowed to subpoena or question witnesses. They can only read accounts that are provided for them. This is why we are advocating for an expansion of that authority."
From here, Davis will look over the report and give the Board his own take on the recommendations. Davis issued a statement citing a list of improvements already made in recent years.
"The FCPD remains proud of our progress and many improvements over the last several years," the statement reads. "The list is a long one. Our County government structure includes an Independent Police Auditor, an Executive Director of the Police Civilian Review Panel and a Police Civilian Review Panel (PCRP). Since the inception of the PRCP six years ago, the panel has disagreed with the FCPD on one singular occasion. The decision to alter or expand the powers of the PCRP is under the purview of the Board of Supervisors. In the meantime, we remain committed to creating and adopting proven industry practices that make Fairfax County safer and maintain our exceptional relationship with our community."