CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Prior to Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis’s arrival in January of 2023, police-community relations were not only strained in Charlottesville, but across the country in the wake of a number of high-profile cases involving police misconduct on the national stage.
On top of that, the country was trying to emerge from the trauma of the pandemic, plus in Charlottesville, gun violence was on the rise. Kochis faced a considerable challenge trying to establish community trust despite the aforementioned challenges in the Charlottesville community. He established a community action team and also implemented weekly “community walks” to engage with local citizens and hear their concerns.
One other action the chief took was to reinstitute the common practice across the country of a “National Night Out” event, which is geared at building unity in the community, typically done in the month of August…