In the wake of two recent incidents in which wheelchair pedestrians were hit in city crosswalks and then ticketed, City officials are finally speaking out.

On Monday afternoon, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo spoke publicly about the cases, and apologized for the first time to victims Gerry Mitchell and Deborah Hamlin. A few hours later during the public comment segment at the city council meeting, several community members expressed their outrage about the incidents, while Mitchell, who was struck by an Albemarle police cruiser on November 5, announced Charlottesville "has a problem with the police not respecting the rights of the citizens." He received a standing ovation from the near-capacity crowd.

Pedestrian activist Kevin Cox demanded councilors investigate who ordered that the ticket be issued to Mitchell.

"Was this done to protect Albemarle county from a lawsuit? And if it was, why?" he asked. "Who made that decision?"

Chief Longo seemed to answer that question during a 15-minute segment on WINA's talk radio show Charlottesville Right Now yesterday afternoon, when he denied having any knowledge of the ticket until it was made public in the Hook's December 6 cover story. The decision to ticket Mitchell was made "in the field" by Charlottesville police officer Steve Grissom, Longo said; he added that both incidents are under review by the police department and the office of the Commonwealth's Attorney.

In the second incident, Deborah Hamlin, who has both cerebral palsy and a visual impairment, was struck by a dump truck in the crosswalk at the intersection of Lee Street and Jefferson Park Avenue. She, too, was ticketed while she was being treated in the UVA emergency room.

Among options being considered in both cases, said Longo, are dropping charges against Mitchell and Hamlin or levying new charges against the drivers for failing to yield to a pedestrian.

Mitchell says diagnostic tests revealed this week that his right rotator cuff was torn and his shoulder bones were fractured when he was lifted from the street into his chair by Albemarle County Officer Greg Davis and a witness after he'd been hit. Still, despite ongoing pain, he says recent developments have him feeling more upbeat.

Receiving a standing ovation at the council meeting was "an unbelievable, joyous moment," says Mitchell. "I felt that the community is concerned about the welfare of all of us."

This morning, he says, he met with several police representatives who are reviewing his case.

The point he tried to make to investigators, he says: "In spite of all the laws, they need to talk to these police about how to deal with the public."

Mayor David Brown says he welcomed the public input at last night's meeting and noted that several of the speakers also praised the police department.

"I really appreciated people taking the time to express that," he says. "Otherwise, police could feel they were being criticized with nothing positive there." He notes that police policy prevents them from commenting on controversial matters, which can leave them "blasted" and "tarred in the press" before further details exonerating their behavior come out in court.

Brown feels that Mitchell should not have been ticketed, but he stops short of implying that Officer Davis should have been ticketed.

"Sometimes accidents happen," he says, adding that as a result of these accidents, council will tackle inconsistencies at pedestrian crosswalks to make sure that "they all work in the same way so they're predictable."

City Councilor Kevin Lynch was more outspoken in his criticism of the police department's handling of Mitchell's case. Lynch said he was not satisfied with a three-page memo sent by Chief Longo to City Councilors explaining the incident from the police department's perspective.

"I feel like while we want to be supportive of our police department; they are human like everyone else," said Lynch. "Trying to pretend this is Mr. Mitchell's fault is not justice."

At the time of this posting, the city had not responded to the Hook's FOIA'd request for that memo.

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