Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Norfolk Police Chief’s Sudden Retirement

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by

James A. Bacon
in

by Kerry Dougherty

Although it’s unlikely, I like to think we had a little something to do with Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone’s surprise announcement Wednesday that he was retiring in two days.

We’ve been critics of his leadership. Perhaps he was paying attention when we called for him to be fired just 15 days ago.

Actually, we first called for him to be sacked last November.

No one is saying the chief has been fired, of course. But it’s unusual for a chief with 30 years of service to the department to make such a hasty exit. His official retirement takes place April 29, but Boone’s last day on the job is tomorrow. He’s using accrued leave for the next several weeks.

Odd.

Boone’s retirement comes amidst an ugly spate of violence. According to reports, there have been 49 people shot in Norfolk so far this year in 39 separate shootings.

For the past several weeks, the city has been playing whack-a-mole with hoodlums as they shot up Granby Street in two incidents and the once upscale (and safe) MacArthur Center. One of the victims of this wave of violence was 25-year-old Sierra Jenkins, a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot. She was out on a Saturday night with a friend when she was killed.

The newspaper was rocked by her death and so was the community.

While the city brass wrung their hands and trotted out tropes about “gun violence,” we recently pointed out that the police department was down 200 cops. How does a city get illegal guns off the street, and keep homicidal maniacs away from law-abiding citizens with a depleted police force?

A better question may be: Why is Norfolk having trouble hiring and retaining good police officers?

That is usually a sign of low morale and poor leadership.

Remember, Chief Boone marched with BLM — while IN UNIFORM — in May of 2020. Yet 11 months later, one of his finest officers, Lt. William K. Kelly, was fired after he was outed by dark web hackers for making a $25 anonymous donation to the Kyle Rittenhouse defense fund.

Kelly was unceremoniously removed from duties for his political activity after 19 years on the force.

Yet it doesn’t appear that Boone was reprimanded for HIS political activism.

A police department dripping in hypocrisy is unhealthy for morale and retention. A change is desperately needed In Norfolk.

Boone’s departure is a good first step.

This column has been republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.

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Comments

12 responses to “Norfolk Police Chief’s Sudden Retirement”

  1. TPL Avatar
    TPL

    On top of all that, let’s point the finger at the families who refuse to raise their children appropriately, teach them respect for the law and authority, teach them temperance and appropriate behavior and to rise above petty behavior.

  2. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    “Although it’s unlikely, I like to think we had a little something to do with Norfolk Police…”

    Very. Ah, the royal “we”. And, I’m sure you will tell the girls at bridge that you did…

  3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “Yet it doesn’t appear that Boone was reprimanded for HIS political activism.”

    Seems he was just following the Chapman lead, eh…??

  4. Ken Reid Avatar
    Ken Reid

    Norfolk police have some 200 openings. Lots of turnover. They are afraid to enforce the law, which I know from experience having been vandalized last year (for having a Trump sticker on my car), and police not filing charges, although I asked them to. Boone seems like a perfect candidate for a police chief in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Chicgao; someone will hire him for big bucks.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      They took the report, right? That enabled you to file an insurance claim, and if they stumble on the guy who cost you $100 without spending 10s of $1000 chasing down the evil sticker thief…

      Filing charges, you say? So, you solved it for ’em too, eh?

      1. walter smith Avatar
        walter smith

        Ah…the liberal insurance scam. Break the windows and we’ll get rich with new economic activity!
        Can I burn down your house…you know…for the public good! Don’t you care?
        Read Frederic Bastiat.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Uh, liberal? The dude had his Trump bumber sticker stolen or vandalized. Maybe he should etch his SocSec# on it in case it shows up in a pawn shop? Or landfill.

          1. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            Substantive!
            Best one yet!
            You are an intellectual giant!

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Well, to you, comparatively,… yes.

          3. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            And your inanity relates to depleted morale, lax enforcement, citizen discontent in Norfolk…how?
            Could you try actually adding something meaningful to a conversation here? Are you even capable of doing that?
            (By the way, Bastiat explains how the broken window economic activity (now supplanted by “insurance covers it”) is not a positive event and is therefore a fallacy. Not that you actually want to learn anything.)

          4. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            The only people discontented in Norfolk is you, and I doubt you’re in Norfolk.

          5. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            And that is why the police chief resigned! See how powerful I am? So you better quit posting bovine waste…or else I will rain down bad consequences from afar!

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