RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — State legislators are calling on the Virginia attorney general to look into Friday’s deadly officer-involved shooting at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
Several state legislators are calling on Attorney General Mark Herring to open an independent investigation, separate from the Virginia State Police investigation.
The legislators calling for the investigation include delegates Jeff Bourne, Marcus Simon, Lashrecse Aird, Paul Krizek, Joe Morrissey and Jay Jones.
Virginia State Police are looking into the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Donovon Lynch, which happened around 11:50 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 20th Street.
“This is not a question of ‘either-or,’ it’s a question of ‘and.’ We need to muster every single resource that we have at our disposal, especially the Attorney General, who enjoys some broadened powers based on transformative action that we took last summer in our special session,” said Del. Jeff Bourne, a Democrat who represents the Richmond area.
Del. Jay Jones, a Democrat who represents Norfolk and is running for attorney general, says he’s disappointed Herring hasn’t opened an investigation.
“While I have the utmost respect for the Virginia State Police and their abilities, I do think this is one of those situations where we talk about being pro-civil rights and pro-justice and this is the time, this is a situation where the Attorney General’s Office needs to insert itself into this process so that we have as much transparency and accountability as possible,” said Jones.
Herring says he supports an independent investigation and thinks it would be good for the community, but hasn’t gone so far as to open one.
“It hopefully will be one that the public can have confidence in,” said Herring. “That it is as open and transparent as possible. It is so important for the public to have confidence in law enforcement and, you know, an outside investigation offers the best likelihood of that happening.”
Jones says there is language in the Code of Virginia that gives the attorney general the power to open an investigation like the one these lawmakers are calling for.
A spokeswoman for Herring’s office also released a statement Thursday evening.
“Attorney General Herring called for an independent investigation into the death of Donovon Lynch because he appreciates and shares these legislators’ concerns about the urgent need for a thorough, objective, independent investigation that goes wherever the facts and evidence leads. AG Herring met with Mr. Lynch’s father and members of the Virginia Beach community in person on Tuesday and shared his commitment to pushing for an independent investigation, and one was announced later that day and is now under way.
“Attorney General Herring has long believed that investigations of officer involved shootings should be handled by independent, unaffiliated agencies to maximize the public’s confidence in the objectivity of an investigation and its outcome. While we appreciate the expression of confidence from these legislators, state law does not give the Office of Attorney General authority to launch its own investigation in a situation like this, and the General Assembly actually rejected granting the OAG such authority just last year in the special session on criminal justice reform. (SB5050: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?202+sum+SB5040)“