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The plaintiffs in the discrimination suit against Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus, former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter and the city aren’t suing for a specific dollar amount. But Wednesday’s testimony for the first time hinted at the costs they may have incurred from allegedly discriminatory promotion processes. According to an economist’s testimony, the total amount that five of the seven plaintiffs may have lost in total lifetime earnings and pension payments by not being promoted by Magnus ranges into the…
A 23-year-old Richmond resident was shot and killed while riding in a car from a party in South Richmond Friday night. The victim, William Cantrell was one of three people in the car, which was fired at by a shooter who was on foot in the 2900 block of Florida Ave., according to Lt. Bisa French. “They were leaving a party, but we have no information on motive or suspect,” French said. The car traveled a few blocks to a…
In recent years, the Richmond Police Department has been riven with discord between sworn and civilian employees, mediation meetings undertaken in bad faith and at least one internal dispute over whether to count a dead body in Richmond as part of the city’s homicide total, according to two witnesses’ testimony Friday. Human Relations Manager Leslie Knight concluded her third day of testimony in the discrimination lawsuit filed by seven African American officers against Chief Chris Magnus, former Deputy Chief Lori…
Joe Blacknell III was found guilty Thursday of 20 felony counts, including the first degree murder of Marcus Russell in 2009. Jurors reached their decision after more than eight days of deliberations. Blacknell, 21, was convicted on 20 out of 22 felonies with which he was charged. He was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder stemming from the September 13, 2009, shooting of Elliot Lawson and Devonte Bernstein, who were wounded in a drive-by shooting at the…
Eight women in helmets, bulky protective pads, tight spandex and rollerskates gather in a pack. Just behind them, two girls — the jammers — are side-by-side, preparing to attack the rink in front of them. A referee blows a whistle twice, sharply, which is followed by a clacking of skates and the soft thud of bodies slamming into each other. The Richmond Wrecking Belles were off to a fast start against The Oakland Outlaws in the Bay Area Derby Girls’…
Lt. Johan Simon, a decorated member of the Richmond Police Department who some thought of as a potential candidate for chief of police, instead gained a more dubious distinction during the divisive early period of Chief Chris Magnus’ tenure atop the organization. He was the first officer ever to be put on a “threat assessment,” a city labor safety practice aimed at quashing workplace violence, according to testimony Wednesday in a Martinez courtroom. Why Simon, then a 26-year veteran of…
A Richmond Police lieutenant on Thursday testified that systemic failures within the department were to blame for a botched investigation into serious crimes in the city. Lt. Charles “Chuck” Whitney testified he is friends with the seven high-ranking African American officers who are suing the city, Chief Chris Magnus and former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter, and that he was concerned about retaliation for his testimony. Whitney was called to the stand by the plaintiffs’ attorneys. The discrimination case, which has…
During her second day of testimony in the discrimination lawsuit against herself, Police Chief Chris Magnus and the city of Richmond, former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter testified that she wanted more diversity in the department’s upper ranks. “When I was deputy chief, the command staff was African American men and myself,” Ritter said. “I wanted to see more gender diversity.” Ritter’s response was to a question from defense attorney Jeffrey Spellberg, who represents Ritter, Magnus and the city. Attorneys for…
Scattered across more than a month of testimony, former Richmond Police Department Deputy Chief Lori Ritter has been accused by some of her former colleagues of harboring a vendetta against them and lashing out at them with racially-tinged jokes. But taking the witness stand herself for the first time on Tuesday, Ritter turned the tables. “I’ve always felt that there was a good ol’ boys network” in the Richmond Police Department, Ritter said. “It was a predominately male profession ……