Brackney’s lawsuit dismissed
A U.S. district court judge has dismissed former Charlottesville police chief RaShall Brackney’s $10 million lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville—and 10 current and former city officials—alleging she was wrongfully terminated based on her sex and gender in September 2021.
In an August 30 court filing, the city’s attorney David Corrigan argued that Brackney’s suit, which she filed in June, did not prove she was discriminated against, and should be dismissed. The attorney claimed that former city manager Chip Boyles terminated Brackney, Charlottesville’s first Black female police chief, “to ensure the viability” of the CPD, which was plagued with “chaos and upheaval” under her leadership. “The imminent threat of departures of important CPD leaders [and] the ongoing strained relationship between Brackney, City leadership, and community stakeholders” also fueled Boyles’ decision, Corrigan wrote.
Judge Norman K. Moon agreed with the city, and threw out the lawsuit on January 20. “Because Plaintiff does not allege sufficient facts to support [her] claims, Defendants’ motions to dismiss are granted,” wrote Moon in a 39-page memorandum.
Brackney accused the city of firing her in retaliation for her efforts to reform the CPD, including disbanding the SWAT team and disciplining and firing officers for severe misconduct. She claimed two defendants created an internal officer survey to elicit negative responses about her, and other defendants later used the survey results to get her fired and harm her reputation.
In addition to the city, Brackney listed the following people as defendants in the suit: Boyles; current and former City Council members Lloyd Snook, Sena Magill, and Heather Hill; Mike Wells, president of the Police Benevolent Association; Bellamy Brown, former chair of the Police Civilian Review Board; former assistant police chief Jim Mooney; current acting Police Chief Tito Durrette; former City Attorney Lisa Roberts; and former city communications director Brian Wheeler.
Moon ruled that Brackney lacked enough evidence to support her claims regarding the alleged conspiracy and malice, among other allegations. The judge also stressed that the former chief was an “at-will” employee, meaning “either the City Manager or Plaintiff [had] the unconditional right to terminate her Employment Agreement, without giving cause, after giving 90 days’ advance notice.”
Brackney’s attorney Charles Tucker says her legal team is “prepared to finish this fight to vindicate Dr. Brackney.”
“The legal standard for our complaint at this early stage in the case was two-fold: Put the defendants on notice as to why they were being sued, and plead the facts supporting a plausible claim,” Tucker said in a public statement. “We submitted an extensive—not exhaustive—complaint with supporting exhibits, showing [that] we in fact met the standard.”
“Prior to the benefit of discovery, the standard for such a motion should have been afforded,” said Tucker. “The court should have examined the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. The judge failed to do so.”
“Our advice to the defendants: Don’t go whistling Dixie yet, because we have only just begun to battle,” Tucker said.
In brief
Juvenile shot
On January 24, the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a shots fired report in the area of Sixth and Garrett streets at around 10pm. Officers discovered a juvenile male who had been shot, just before more than 2,400 households in the area lost power. The victim is in stable condition. It remains unclear if the shooting and power outage were related.
Slain pedestrians identified
Police have identified the person struck and killed by a driver on Ivy Road on January 12 as Isidro Casandro Martinez, 52, of Albemarle County. Martinez had been walking a bicycle across the road in the rain when the crash occurred at around 10:55pm, though the Charlottesville Police Department previously reported Martinez had been riding a bike without a helmet, had on dark clothing, and did not have bicycle lights. Corey Abdella, 54, of Charlottesville has been charged with reckless driving in connection with the crash. County police have also identified Harry Steven Allen, 53, of Charlottesville as the pedestrian struck and killed by a driver on Route 29 on January 13 at around 6:50pm. Allen and two other pedestrians had been walking outside a crosswalk when he and another person were hit. No charges have been filed against the driver.
Crowded race
Former Charlottesville mayor Dave Norris has thrown his hat into Virginia’s District 54 House race. Albemarle County School Board chair Katrina Callsen, former mayor David Brown, and city social services assistant Dashad Cooper are also running for the Democratic nomination.
Curtain call
Regal Cinemas at the Shops at Stonefield is closing, per bankruptcy documents filed by Cineworld, reports the Daily Progress. The parent company plans to shut down 38 other Regal theaters nationwide.