On behalf of the men and women of the Albemarle County Police Department, I would like to acknowledge the time and attention that the Virginia State Police (VSP); the Commonwealth Attorney for Albemarle County, Mr. James Hingeley; and the Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Charlottesville, Mr. Joseph Platania, have spent over the past several months to thoroughly investigate the officer-involved shootings that occurred on August 29, 2022, that involved members of the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, and on February 28, 2023, that involved ACPD’s SWAT Team. 

It is my professional philosophy that when an officer is involved in a shooting in Albemarle County, a request be made for the Virginia State Police to investigate the incident to determine whether or not the shooting was justifiable. Parallel to VSP’s investigation, ACPD conducts an internal investigation to ensure departmental policies are adhered to. 

For both shootings, VSP was asked to conduct an investigation. I made the request for the shooting that occurred on August 29, 2022, in Albemarle County, and Chief of Police of the Charlottesville Police Department, Mike Kochis, and Charlottesville’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, Joseph Platania, asked VSP to investigate the shooting that occurred on February 28, 2023, in the City. As identified in the reports from Commonwealth’s Attorney Hingeley and Commonwealth’s Attorney Platania, these investigations were conducted with full transparency and cooperation of the Albemarle County Police Department. 

The officers involved in these events were placed in life-threatening situations when confronted by armed individuals who willfully ignored the officers’ instructions to surrender peacefully and directly threatened the lives of the officers and the safety of members of the public. Due to the decisions made by the two individuals, officers were left with no choice but to respond with appropriate force to neutralize an immediate threat. The Commonwealth Attorneys' findings that detail each of these circumstances can be found here and here.  

As Chief of Police, I stand by the actions of these brave officers and appreciate the tremendous support from our community as we collectively continue to recover from these events.  

ACPD’s senior leadership has met with the family of Mr. Sites to discuss the events of February 28, 2023. At this time, ACPD is not inclined to release body-worn camera footage from this tragic incident.  

Again, I would like to extend my appreciation to the Virginia State Police, Commonwealth’s Attorney James Hingeley, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Platania for their thorough review of these incidents. While these events ended with the tragic loss of life, I am truly grateful that no officers or community members were injured or killed during these incidents.