By Associated Press
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Officials in the Virginia city that endured a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017 say people are cursing police officers and it’s thinning the department’s ranks.
Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney told The Daily Progress on Sunday that the climate has been toxic since before the Unite the Right rally.
Brackney says video shows people cursing officers and calling them names. Brackney says it’s a top reason officers are quitting in large numbers. The department is down nearly two dozen officers and vacancies are getting harder to fill.
Other reasons include pay, officers’ inability to take home patrol cars and what Brackney called “vocal and biased” civilian review board members.
The rally saw white nationalists clash with counterprotesters. A woman died after a man drove his car into a crowd.