City manager calls Magnus ‘good leader,’ credits him for reforms during testimony in discrimination case

bill lindsay left jeff ritterman

As police command staff officials began peppering his hand-picked police chief with complaints of discrimination, Richmond’s most powerful executive official did all he felt he should do: Initiate an independent investigation, pass the complaints on to his Human Resources manager and issue a department-wide letter reiterating conduct policies. “I felt like I was doing exactly…

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Amid racial strife, Magnus hit resistance in imposing his program

magnus and lori ritter

When he took the helm in early 2006, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus looked to impose his geographically centered policing strategy in a department accustomed to mobile crime suppression teams and cleaved with persistent racial division. “Unfortunately our department is greatly segregated,” then-Captain Ed Medina wrote in a memo reviewed by Magnus in 2006. “We…

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Woman found dead in Richmond restaurant

richmond police

A 30-year-old woman was found dead in a local restaurant Tuesday night in what police are investigating as a homicide. Officers responding to a 7:30 p.m. call found Jensy Romero dead inside Angie’s Restaurant and Bakery in the 12000 block of San Pablo Avenue, police said. An employee discovered the body and placed the emergency…

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Richmond police utilize social media

When Michelle Milam first set up Richmond Police Department’s Facebook profile in January, she couldn’t help but wonder how many people were going to “like” the page. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Richmond Police Facebook page had 634 fans, with 14,711 unique views over the last month. The average Facebook user has only 130 friends,…

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