New Fire Chief hire and Police promotions; welcoming Otto; the winter restaurant scene, and more...

Here's some interesting local history concerning our new Assistant Police Chief...

Officer James Mooney, who was just promoted to Assistant Charlottesville Police Chief, was at the center of the controversial DNA swabbing effort in the early 2000s, as he, the City, and then Police Chief Tim Longo were sued after Mooney obtained a DNA sample from a suspect at his home while investigating a serial rapist case. The suit was filed by Larry Monroe, who claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when Mooney asked him for a buccal swab to match Monroe's DNA against the serial rapist's. By 2004, police had swabbed over 500 Black males until community outrage over the practice and accusations of racial profiling caused officials to halt the practice.

The serial rapist, Nathan Antonio Washington, would eventually be caught based on a tip from a victim and would be sentenced to four life terms plus 20 years.

The next day, Charlottesville announced that the civil lawsuit against the cit…