Central Shenandoah News

A message from Chief Warner

"To the community of Harrisonburg,

Like all of you, I and every member of the Harrisonburg Police Department are horrified by the unimaginable brutality committed by five police officers of the Memphis Police Department. Our sincere condolences go out to the Nichols family.

We must all be committed to ensuring horrendous acts of violence cease to exist in our society – especially those acts that occur at the hands of those tasked with protecting our community. To that end, the Harrisonburg Police Department has several layers of checks and balances within our department.

To begin with, we hire outstanding candidates. Further, our training program is known throughout the Shenandoah Valley as one of the most progressive there is and as a top-tier program in this region. Supervisors are required by policy to audit officers’ Body Worn Camera (BWC) images monthly to ensure they are within policy and will act if they are not. Harrisonburg Police Department takes this review of BWC’s even one step higher as we have a Use of Force Review Board, which includes two civilian members from our community.

The Harrisonburg Police Department works very hard every single day to ensure the safety of all in our community and ensure the constitutional rights of ALL. We do this with honor and without prejudice.

Original source can be found here