Incidents

"Police said they were called to the store for a report of a suspicious person. A clerk told an officer that a man with a knife had tried to rob the store. When the officer approached Closson, he produced a cutting tool roughly six inches long, with an approximately three-inch serrated edge, police said. The officer fired his gun after Closson advanced toward him and ignored numerous commands to stop, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer, a five-year veteran of the department who hasn’t been identified by police, wasn’t injured. He’s been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice for officer-involved shootings."

"On Monday, September 16, at approximately 10:17 a.m., an officer responded to a residence in the 11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston for a welfare check. FCPD received a request from a mental health professional to conduct a welfare check on 33-year-old Sydney Wilson, of Reston, who was reported to be in an agitated state."

Body cam footage shows Wilson slashing at officer Peter Liu with a kitchen knife. He attempted to de-escalate, then shot Wilson 3 times, killing her.

At approximately 8:00 p.m., Lynchburg Police responded to the Super 8 Motel on Candlers Mountain Road to serve an arrest warrant on 32-year-old Francisco J. Hernandez Jr., of Newport News. Hernandez barricaded himself inside his room with a hostage. After a 3 hour standoff Hernandez was shot by Lynchburg Police.

Virginia State Police hunted Christopher J. Martin while driving a Toyota Tacoma on Route 58 near Glendale Road in Carroll County at 12:53 p.m. They pursued him, then a local officer and Virginia State Trooper shot and killed him.

Virginia Beach police officer Sean A. Fearon is charged with felony object sexual penetration, felony abduction, and felony destruction of evidence. Fearon was on duty at the time of the alleged incident.

The VBPD Detective Bureau began an investigation and presented their findings to the Chesapeake's Office of Commonwealth's Attorney, who convened a grand jury. The grand jury indicted Fearon on all the charges.

Travis Taurean Martin was pulled over by Roanoke Police. Police say Martin exited his vehicle with a weapon and advanced towards police, who then shot him.

Record is sealed (7/24/2024).

Hanover County Sheriff's deputy P. C. (Peter) Chapman violated the rights of Deshawn Eugene Taylor at a traffic stop, then engaged in reverse prosecution of his victim, according to a PACER entry for Deshawn Taylor v Commonwealth of Virginia dated May 2024.

Police responded to a call on the 1900 block of Cedar St. for "a disturbance with an armed person" by shooting and killing 20-year-old Kenneth Sharp, who had been asleep in his car prior to the attack by police. The perpetrator was Todd Wesley Hall, a white officer. He was not criminally charged.

On December 17, 2023 at roughly 22:33, "Officer G. G. Rathore and Officer B. M. Hager arrived at the Ramada Inn located at 21 Signal Knob Drive in reference to a disorderly female who was said to be behind of the front desk without permission, throwing cans of soda in the lobby area of the business, and running through the hallways carrying a fire extinguisher."

At some point, Office Rathore encountered Melissa Renee Tompkins in the rear parking lot of the hotel, where she allegedly "grabbed his baton and used it to hit him in the head". Rathore shot Tompkins multiple times.

Tompkins was taken to Winchester Medical Center where she died of her injuries. Rathore was treated at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital and released.

Deputy Andrew Simonetti was placed on administrative leave after tackling a 58-year-old man outside a storage facility.

Former trooper files suit against supervisors, alleging whistleblower retribution for filing misconduct complaints against trooper Fairley M. Blevins.

While off-duty, Christopher Newport University Chief of Police Daniel F. Woloszynowski, hit 58-year-old Shaine Deeleeoan Henderson, a pedestrian, with his vehicle and killed him.

Nearly eight months after Wesley G. Shifflett and James F. Sadler chased, harassed, cornered, and then murdered Timothy "Tim" McCree Johnson, a 37-year-old Black man leaving the mall, a special grand jury in Fairfax County indicted one of them for felony crimes.

Shifflett, a Fairfax County Police officer since 2016 up until April of 2023, will face a class-five felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and a second charge citing reckless handling of firearms. The special grand jury was the second to convene to consider prosecuting the February 22, 2023 murder of Mr. Johnson. The first grand jury failed to issue a true bill. Sadler, the other Fairfax County officer who shot Tim Johnson and was reportedly not in uniform at the time of the killing, was never charged with a crime.

Sgt. William Mikolay was accused of assaulting a man after a chase and was charged in Albemarle County with malicious wounding and misdemeanor assault and battery.

Off-duty officer arrested after DUI crash

Officer Babor was charged with felonies alleging he clocked into work at Suffolk Police while actually working a second job.

An officer shot 34-year-old Taylor Lee Drew on July 22, 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Drew was pronounced dead at the hospital.