With the General Assembly set to convene for a special session next week, Virginia lawmakers are signaling strong support for legislation empowering local citizen review boards to investigate and in some cases discipline police officers accused of misconduct. However, the proposals are increasingly drawing opposition from some in law enforcement, particularly elected sheriffs around the state who argue that because they are directly elected by voters every four years they are already accountable to the communities they police.
As Virginia lawmakers weigh civilian oversight of police, some in law enforcement object