Since taking office in 2016, state Sen. Amanda Chase hasn’t usually been one to shy away from conflict.

In fact, you could even say the Republican lawmaker embraces it, making a name for herself as an outspoken host of her own political radio show, by going up against Dominion Energy on the issue of coal ash legislation and by sporting a gun on her hip during the most recent legislative session.

But even she seemed unprepared for the level of controversy the last few weeks have brought to her own political career. Following a much-publicized altercation with a Capitol Police officer on March 22 and subsequent events, the self-styled maverick suddenly finds herself in a rare situation for a Republican: She’s crossways with members of the local law enforcement community.

Last week, Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard withdrew his support for Chase and called out a Republican Board of Supervisors candidate for not doing the same, joining a growing list of ranking Republicans who have denounced Chase for her treatment of the Capitol Police officer.

The dust-up comes at an inopportune time for Chase, who rode the coattails of tea party sentiment into office in 2016 and is seeking re-election this fall. Democratic enthusiasm is at an all-time high in a county once seen as a bedrock of conservatism, which raises the question: Is Amanda Chase in trouble?

When it comes to first-timers in the state legislature, Chase quickly rose in stature as a personable straight-shooter, unafraid to challenge the status quo.

“Certainly, she has made an impression on the General Assembly,” says Bob Holsworth, a longtime political analyst in Richmond. “For a relative newcomer, she has a relative profile that is much higher than you normally see from a new member of the General Assembly.”

In her first term she quickly established herself as an outspoken voice on the issues she cared about, often running afoul of members of her own party. She helped lead the charge to take on Dominion Energy, championing coal ash cleanup efforts. A critic of Chesterfield’s megasite plan, initially endorsed as a job-creator by other GOP lawmakers, Chase at one point said she wanted to eliminate economic development authorities altogether, eventually drafting a bill that would require local government approval for all EDA expenditures.

She’s also been willing to challenge the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors on issues like the megasite, and Chase became a key figure in the controversy over summer reading lists in 2016, suggesting that county school librarians who included books she deemed “pornographic” should be “dismissed.”

These stances have earned Chase points with her constituents, but the string of recent controversies have been difficult to shake, causing some to question her judgment.

On March 22, Chase got into an altercation with Capitol Police Officer Ashley Berryman when she wouldn’t let Chase park her car in a restricted part of Capitol Square, cursing at Berryman and reportedly referring to the Senate clerk as “Miss Piggy.” Initially, Chase denied the police report, telling the Richmond Times-Dispatch that she would “never use that kind of language.” In a subsequent radio interview on WRVA, Chase would later admit that she “did drop the F-bomb.”

The incident led Republican Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment to apologize to Capitol Police for the actions of “a senator who is a member of our caucus.” Chase has since apologized for losing her cool, but maintains that the officer was “rude and dismissive.”

Another news report from the Richmond Times-Dispatch on May 10 states that Chase used the Capitol Police for transportation so frequently during session that its chief asked House and Senate clerks to remind lawmakers that this was against accepted procedures; Chase said she was using police escorts for legislative purposes and didn’t know she was doing anything wrong.

Her attempts to save face also backfired. Following news of the initial Capitol Police controversy, a Facebook page operated by Chase’s re-election campaign posted a photo of Chase with some of Sheriff Karl Leonard’s deputies in an effort to show her solidarity with law enforcement. In response, Leonard posted on Facebook that he had received inquiries about the picture, asking if the photo was an endorsement of her; he explained that it wasn’t.

Following his post, Leonard says he received a text message from Chase stating she would try to hinder his re-election campaign this fall. Leonard would not explain the specifics of the text.

“I will just generalize it by saying there was a threat to undermine my campaign by affecting my ability to fundraise,” Leonard says. “I’m just rather surprised that she would send me something of that nature or act of that nature.”

Leonard endorsed Chase for her 2015 bid for the General Assembly, but says he will not do so this time around. Asked how the law enforcement community is reacting to the recent controversies, Leonard says that in general, there is a sense of concern.

“A lot of them that I’ve talked to are very dismayed by the manner in which she treated Officer Berryman, and then you compound that with [the other two events], it just shows a pattern, I believe, of lack of respect for members of law enforcement,” he says. “Which is unfortunate, because I’ve seen her interact with members of law enforcement in a favorable manner as well.”

Will all the recent controversies hurt her in the fall? While they may have an impact, Holsworth believes Chase is most likely safe.

“Her district is a heavily Republican district I think, and so she comes into these elections with an advantage,” Holsworth says.

Regarding the party establishment’s apology to Capitol Police over her actions, Holsworth says it’s especially telling of her position within the party at a time when Republicans hold just a 21-19 seat advantage in the state Senate. Even in this fragile situation, the Republicans were still willing to publicly scold her for her conduct.

“This party is extremely vulnerable right now. They lose one seat and they lose the majority,” Holsworth says. “[The apology] suggests clearly that there’s some tension between the party leadership in the Senate and Sen. Chase.”

That said, he points out that confrontation is part of Chase’s brand, and speculates that these controversies may actually play well with some of her supporters.

“She’s [generally] adopted an unconventional strategy. She thinks it’s the strategy that’s appropriate for these times, but in doing so, she certainly has angered a group of people – conventional establishment Republicans and those folks are worried that her focus is more on her ideology and beliefs than in getting advantageous legislation for Chesterfield County in the assembly,” he says. “The question is, are there enough people who are upset with this that are able to pass the vote to a Democrat?”

Caught in the crosshairs of all this controversy is Kevin Carroll, one of three Republicans currently vying for the Republican nomination to pursue the Matoaca District seat on the Board of Supervisors. A retired Chesterfield police officer of 32 years, president of the county Fraternal Order of Police and past president of the state FOP, Carroll was endorsed by Chase ahead of the controversies, but he isn’t returning the favor at this point.

Carroll says he supports Chase as a friend but not as a candidate at the moment, and that she’s been a longtime supporter of law enforcement.

“I’m not taking a position in supporting her because of the incident that’s going on,” he says. “It’s very unfortunate what’s happened, and I will always support her as a friend.”

Amanda Pohl, one of the two Democrats vying to take on Chase in the fall, says what happened is inexcusable.

“I was appalled, I think, like everyone else,” Pohl says. “There’s no excuse for that. As a person who’s in public office who is supposed to be a role model, you are supposed to be held to a higher standard.”

Multiple attempts to interview Chase over the past three weeks were ultimately unsuccessful. In response to emailed questions, Chase says she wishes she’d kept her cool on March 22, and that she’d filed a complaint against the officer the day it happened. So far, she has issued no known apology to the officer.

Of Leonard, Chase says it’s unfortunate that he “chose to take an innocent Facebook picture post out of context that’s on my Facebook page and make it political.” As for Norment’s apology to Capitol Police, she says, “that is not surprising given the fact that I’ve challenged the Senate leadership on a number of issues.”

Asked about her re-election chances in the fall, she states, “My hope is that people would look past this one day and look instead at my accomplishments over the past four years.” ¦