# Norfolk Police Department

The Norfolk Police Department (NPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 242,803 people within 96.3 square miles (249 km$^2$) of jurisdiction within Norfolk, Virginia.

## Misconduct

As a matter of policy, the department does not tell the public what if any disciplinary actions it takes against is officers.
In early 2011, Detective Robert Glenn Ford was sentenced to more than twelve years in prison for taking bribes from criminals. Ford was the detective who questioned the Norfolk 4 who were unjustly imprisoned for twenty years for rape and murder. The men's lawyers said they had been intimidated into confessing by the police.
In January 2014, a woman was mauled by a Norfolk police dog, requiring forty-three stitches. The police chief admitted his officers used excessive force and the city settled for almost $200,000. Four policemen left the department as a result of this attack but were never charged.
On 7 May 2016, Officer Justin Benson was driving at more than seventy miles per hour on city streets when he struck a car, killing its driver. The officer was violating the department's policy on the maximum speed to be used when responding to a call. He was not charged.
In July 2016, the City agreed to pay one and a half million dollars to settle a lawsuit involving a drunk driver who was shot by a policeman. The City did not admit any legal responsibility in the settlement.

## Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Norfolk Police Department, 39 officers have died in the line of duty.
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
| Officer John McNerney | Thursday, September 22, 1904 | Gunfire |
| Officer Rufus A. Hobbs | Friday, July 23, 1909 | Animal Related |
| Officer Stonewall J. Taylor | Tuesday, November 13, 1917 | Struck by vehicle |
| Officer Ashville T. Williamson | Thursday, October 31, 1918 | Gunfire |
| Officer Harvey J. Babb | Tuesday, October 21, 1919 | Motorcycle accident |
| Officer Harry J. Charlton | Tuesday, August 24, 1920 | Assault |
| Officer William L. Sherrod | Thursday, September 9, 1920 | Struck by streetcar |
| Officer Edward J. Vellines | Wednesday, November 5, 1924 | Gunfire |
| Officer Daniel A. Weisbrod | Thursday, December 6, 1928 | Gunfire |
| Officer Joseph E. Johnson | Monday, August 11, 1930 | Motorcycle accident |
| Officer Allen E. Lindsay | Tuesday, August 21, 1934 | Motorcycle accident |
| Sergeant Benjamin H. Butts | Tuesday, January 1, 1935 | Gunfire |
| Officer Jefferson R. Holland | Tuesday, August 17, 1937 | Motorcycle accident |
| Officer John Franklin Harmann | Tuesday, March 29, 1938 | Gunfire |
| Officer Arthur Herbert Barrett | Saturday, April 9, 1938 | Heart Attack |
| Officer Michael Aloisio | Tuesday, May 23, 1939 | Motorcycle Accident |
| Officer Frank A. Davis | Tuesday, July 13, 1943 | Gunfire |
| Officer Robert F. Dunn | Tuesday, July 13, 1943 | Gunfire |
| Chief of Police John Fulton Woods | Friday, October 4, 1946 | Automobile Accident |
| Detective George W. Perkins | Thursday, December 12, 1946 | Automobile Accident |
| Officer Daniel E. Hobbs | Sunday, April 27, 1952 | Automobile Accident |
| Officer Carlton J. Byrd | Monday, August 25, 1952 | Motorcycle accident |
| Officer William Warren Lassiter | Thursday, May 1, 1958 | Struck by vehicle |
| Officer Louis E. Spry | Saturday, July 26, 1958 | Vehicle Pursuit |
| Officer Robert C. Hill | Wednesday, December 9, 1959 | Automobile accident |
| Officer Benjamin E. Myrick | Saturday, February 13, 1960 | Motorcycle accident |
| Detective Robert Courtland Wash | Tuesday, May 16, 1961 | Gunfire |
| Officer William Peterson | Saturday, March 17, 1962 | Struck by vehicle |
| Sergeant Robert J. Bouchard | Friday, September 3, 1971 | Gunfire |
| Officer Lewis Willard Hurst Jr. | Wednesday, May 24, 1972 | Gunfire |
| Officer Stephen Samuel Douros | Saturday, June 21, 1980 | Vehicular assault |
| Officer John C. Thomas III | Wednesday, April 4, 1984 | Motorcycle accident |
| Officer Douglas Eric Drye | Saturday, April 14, 1984 | Gunfire |
| Police Officer William Henry Burtt | Tuesday, February 3, 1998 | Gunfire |
| Police Officer James B. Gilbert | Friday, September 28, 2001 | Gunfire |
| Police Officer Sheila Herring | Thursday, January 16, 2003 | Gunfire |
| Police Officer Stanley Cornell Reaves | Friday, October 28, 2005 | Gunfire |
| Police Officer Seneca Bailey Darden | Sunday, May 21, 2006 | Gunfire (accidental) |
| Police Officer Brian Jones | Friday, May 30, 2014 | Gunfire |