The trouble for Charlottesville police began in 2017 when white supremacists marched on a city unprepared. Since then dozens of officers have quit the force, and two chiefs have been fired. This month, however, Michael Kochis marks six months as Charlottesville’s top cop. He says fourteen recruits are now on their way to the police academy for training. Seven are people of color and five are women. They’ll start work at $53,000 a year with a $6,000 signing bonus.
“Which is pretty competitive for this area," Kochis says. "Where we struggle is the middle of the pay scale.”
He’s hopeful that will change when the city begins collective bargaining with officers. In the meantime, they’ll will take part in day-long training sessions on how to work better with the public. The department is hosting focus groups to craft a three-year strategic plan and has revised its vision, mission and values statement.
“It’s very community-focused. It talks about us being an accountable, transparent and relational police department.”
And the chief vows to address a growing problem with guns. So what legal changes will he recommend?
“You’re not going to rope me into the politics of it, but I will say this: In my 25 years I have never seen the level of accessibility to firearms that I do today. They are everywhere. I spent my career working in narcotics, street crimes, investigations, homicides. I’ve done all of those things, and you know we would maybe do a search warrant and get one gun. Now it’s multiple guns every time.”
He regrets not having police officers in the schools – a decision made by the board of education, but if that board were to change its mind, Kochis says he doesn’t have any officers to spare.
