Open Letter: firing Chief Brackney was not acceptable

I am writing you as a long-time resident of this city who is still astonished, though no longer surprised, by the unbridged distance between white and Black Charlottesville communities.

Dear Mayor and Councilors:

I am writing you as a long-time resident of this city who is still astonished, though no longer surprised, by the unbridged distance between white and Black Charlottesville communities. The abrupt firing of Chief Brackney by City Manager Boyles is the latest example of this sad reality.

When the newly appointed Chief announced her intention of adopting Twenty-First Century Policing practices, as laid out in the 2015 report commissioned by the Obama Administration, I was interested. Perhaps, I hoped, (white) Charlottesville would begin to reformulate its governing practices at all levels, and would learn to show African American officials respect equal to that given non-Black administrators and elected officials.

Now I’ve listened to Mayor Walker’s YouTube video/sound file “Unmasking the Illusion”. I agree with her. There is no visible or justifiable reason for Chief Brackney’s having been fired, especially without the public’s or Council’s advice. From here, it…