Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-25


and ordinances Of the city, and Is TO
the power Of other officials to give Or
csIs with respect to such executions
directly TO members Of the police and
without the intervention Of this Board :
Rssoleed, That the opinion and ad.
vice Of the City Attorney be requested
with regard TO il, and that the circum-
stances under which this question has
arisen be given in detail to the Attorney
at the same time at which the question
is submitted 10 him.
"The foregoing substitute was
adopted.
"At a meeting Of the Board held
July 25, ls7s-present, W. c. Car
ringtcn tpresident) aud Messrs. John II
Gresham, James w. Shields. u. L. ID.
Ny ers. and John Enders--in response to
the request OF the Board the following
opinion. prepared by the City Attorney,
was received and read;
"0FFIcE CITY ATTORNEY, !
RICHMOND, VA, July Is, 1878. J
"7o Tie Board Of Police Commission
ers
Gentlemen,-I am in receipt OF
your resolution Of yesterday asking In
substance my opinion as TO the power
of the Board and the scope Of its au-
thority with respect to the enforcement
Of the ordinances Of the city; and Sec
oDdly, the right of any other official to
issue orders to the force directly and
without the Intervention Of the Board.
IL reply that, in my opinion, the
duty OF the Police Commissioners is
to secure the efficient discharge Of po-
lice duties by general regulations pre-
scribing the duties Of the force as to all
ordinances. Included in this is the
duty, if, on report to them or On their
own observation, any special ordinance
is neglected by the police, to require the
Chief to see TO its enforcement, for the
reason that one Of the duties Of the
Board is to secure the efficiency Of the
force, and in the supposed case there is
inefiiciency.
"In the second place, | do not think
that any other official than the Board
has the right to issue orders to the
force except the Chief, the whole scope
Of the charter scheme for the govern
ment Of the police force tending to the
maintenance of the Board as the gov
eIDiDg power Of the force, provided no
law and no city ordinance be violated
by the rules adopted by the Board for
the government of the force. The right
Of the citizen which may be involved in
the manner in which a policeman dis
charges his duty as to the enforcement
Of the ordinances stands upon higher
ground than regulations of the Board
upon the law Of the land; and the
Board cannot, Of course, abridge those
tights.
Very respectfully,
"A. NJ. Kelley, City Attorney.
"The order Of the Chief Of Police to
the force, bearing date July IL, 1873,
being again under consideration, Major
Myers offered the following resolution,
which was adopted:
" ResOired. That a recent order Of
the Chief of Police, under date Of july
l3, 1878, being under discussion, the
Board find that said order as issued by
him was under a mistaken view Of the
authority for doing so, and direct that
be rescind it. But nothing in this ac-
ton Of the Board shall be construed as
relieving the police Of the duty of en-
forcing as theretoforesall the ordinances
of the city according to law whenever
any violations of the same shall come
to their knowledge.
"At a meeting of the Board held
January ii, l879--present, Messrs. P.
II. Mayo president pro tenn, John II,
Gresham, James W. Shields, f. d. 7.
Myers, and Z. A. Saunders Judge
George L. Christian appeared be-
fore the Board, by its permits
sion, and called attention to the fact
that by a recent decision Of the Sd
preme Court of Appeals it had been
made his duty as Judge of the Hastings
Court of Richmond TO enforce within
the city an observance Of the statute
prohibiting the sale of liquors on Sunday.
, lie said he had called the attention Of
the Chief of Police to the matter and
asked his cooperation and that of his
subordinates to the enforcement Of the
law; that the Chief informed him he
had been prevented from enforcing the
law by the Mayor or by the action Of
the Board of Police Commissioners,
and he Judge Christian had come be-
fore the Board, recognizing it as the
head of the police department, to ask
that the Board would give such orders
to the Chief of Police and his subordi-
mates as would be necessary for the
enforcement Of the law.
"Major Poe, Chief ofPolice, stated that
he had given one order to the force with
reference to the sale Of liquors on Sun
day, which he subsequently revoked by
order of the Mayor, and that any further
attempt on his part to enforce the law
would, in his opinion, be in opposition
to the will of the Board as expressed In
the order to him to revoke his order to
the force bearing date July l3, 1878.
1.-THE minutes of the meetings of the
Board held on the 9th and 18th OF
July, 1878, were then read, and the
subject further discussed, and the
Board were unanimously Of the opinion
that there was nothing in its action d.
rectipg the Chief Of Police to rescind his
order bearing date July ID, 1873,
which should be construed as relieving
the Chief OF Police or any member Of
the force from any Of their duties OF
responsibilities under the Law or ordl'
nances Of the city" W.