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VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL
Virginia Beach, Virginia
March 30, 2021
Mayor Dyer called to order the SPECIAL MEETING of the VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL in the
Virginia Beach Convention Center, Suite 5, on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at 1:00 P.M
Council Members Present:
Jessica P. Abbott, Michael F. Berlucchi, Mayor Robert M. Dyer, Barbara M.
Henley, Louis R Jones, John D. Moss,Aaron R. Rouse, Guy K Tower, Rosemary
Wilson, Vice Mayor James L. Wood and Sabrina D. Wooten
Council Members Absent:
None
2
MAYOR'S CALL FOR
SPECIAL SESSION
ITEM#71437
Mayor Dyer read the Mayor's Call for the SPECIAL SESSION:
March 28, 2021
"HONORABLE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
In accordance with the Virginia Beach City Code Section 2-21, the undersigned call for a
SPECIAL MEETING of the VIRGINL4 BEACH CITY COUNCIL to hold a public briefing on the
shooting events of Friday,March 26,2021, at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront:
Tuesday,March 30,2021
1:00P.M.
Virginia Beach Convention Center
100019`h Street,Suite 5
Sincerely,
s/ s/ s/
Louis R Jones Aaron R Rouse Sabrina Wooten
Bayside District At Large Centerville District"
Cc: City Manager
City Attorney
City Clerk
Deputy City Managers
FOIA Officer
Communications Office
March 30, 2021
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March 28, 2021
HONORABLE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
In accordance with the Virginia Beach City Code Section 2-21, the undersigned
call for a SPECIAL MEETING of the VIRGINL4 BEACH CITY COUNCIL to hold a
public briefing on the shooting events of Friday,March 26, 2021, at the Virginia Beach
Oceanfront:
Tuesday,March 30, 2021
1:00P.M.
Virginia Beach Convention Center
1000 19th Street,Suite 5
Sincerely,
� rlQileO /27O � - °
Louis R. Jones 41 Aaron R. Rouse b y Sabrina Wooten
Bayside District At Large Centerville District
Cc: City Manager
City Attorney
City Clerk
Deputy City Managers
FOIA Officer
Communications Office
3
ITEM#71438
1:02 P.M.
Mayor Dyer recognized Patrick Duhaney, City Manager, who read the attached statement.
City Manager Duhaney then turned the meeting over to Paul W. Neudigate, Chief of Police, who read the
attached statement. Chief Neudigate responded to numerous questions from City Council Members.
March 30, 2021
Patrick Duhaney
Statement
• Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and Members of Council.
• The events that unfolded in our City late on Friday, March 26 were, by any
measure, both horrific and devastating.
• Two people were killed and eight others wounded in a series of senseless
acts of violence in our city.
• I want to express my condolences to the families and victims. Their grief
and pain is surely beyond measure. Few situations are more serious for us
than when an officer takes a life.
• I also want to express my appreciation for the many people who have
shared their concerns and offered recommendations for how to address the
underlying circumstances that contributed to this violence. We are
examining every avenue available to us to prevent these incidents.
• I am grateful to the first responders who rushed toward the danger to
protect and save as many lives as possible.
• You may be aware that the initial exchange of gunfire took place within
yards of a police officer and that within minutes, we had more than 100
police and dozens of Fire and EMS personnel on the scene. The disregard
for consequences is a stark reminder of how much work there is to do.
• While there are many law enforcement and civilian witnesses to interview
and footage from various cameras to examine, that the camera worn by the
officer involved in the confrontation/shooting of Mr. Lynch was not activated
is a serious problem. We have already taken steps to procure the
technology needed so a camera automatically turns on when an officer
removes their firearm from its holster, but as the chief will explain, we are
facing both manufacturing and production issues.
• As you will hear Chief Neudigate explain, disagreements were at the center
of the initial shootings. To ensure we all share the same base of
information and for the benefit of our residents and visitors, I have asked
him to review what happened and where we are with the investigation. We
will then open the floor for your questions and dialogue.
• I want to assure this body and our community that we are resolute in our
commitment to be as transparent, thorough and expeditious as possible
given the parameters of criminal and internal investigations. While
everyone wants immediate answers, we must allow the experts to do the
work and that takes time.
OPENING
I would like to start this afternoon by once again
expressing condolences on behalf of the Police
Department to everyone affected by the violence we
witnessed Friday Night.
I truly appreciate the opportunity to come in and discuss
and answer questions about process and to clear up
some of the questions that our community has.
Unfortunately, I will only be able to provide some general
overview to the shooting incidents as they are continuing
criminal investigations and we have to be very cognizant
about not doing anything that could possibly interfere
with prosecution efforts in the future.
4
ADJOURNMENT
ITEM#71439
Mayor Robert M. Dyer DECLARED the City Council SPECIAL MEETING at 3:18 P.M
manda Ba , MMC Robert M. Dyer
City Clerk Mayor
March 30, 2021