Wilder’s executive-protection unit involved in seven wrecks

Wilder's unit had seven wrecks from 2005 to'08 Richmond police officers blamed for three crashes but charged in none

At 1:40 a.m. on a Thursday last October, a 2006 Mercury crashed into a deer on state Route 5 in Charles City County.

The wreck caused $1,713 in damage to the car's front end but no injuries to its occupants.

It's an accident that typically would get little notice, except it involved a Richmond Police Department unit assigned to provide 24-hour security to then-Mayor L. Douglas Wilder.

It was one of seven, mostly minor wrecks involving vehicles of the executive-protection unit since it was established in 2005, according to police records released under a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request.

The Charles City crash occurred Oct. 16 at Route 5 and Adkins Road, about 12 miles northwest of Wilder's estate on the James River. Wilder lived there before he moved back to Richmond to meet residency requirements to be mayor. Assessment records show he still owns the property.

Of the seven wrecks, city officers were blamed for three but charged in none, according to police reports and Charles City Sheriff Javier J. Smith.

Other drivers were faulted in three wrecks and charged in at least two. One driver was cited with an improper lane change and another with failure to yield and driving without a license.

Typically, city police officers aren't charged in minor wrecks because "internal discipline procedures generally carry greater consequences to the officers than the citation would," Victoria N. Pearson, general counsel for the police department, said in an e-mail.

"Additionally, all of our accidents are reviewed by a review board, which includes citizens who participate in the process of determining appropriate discipline."

Citing confidential personnel issues, Pearson would not say whether any officers had been disciplined. The accident reports describe officers' vehicles bumping into the back of one car, sideswiping another, and hitting the bumper of yet another.

Except for the one in Charles City, all the wrecks occurred in Richmond. Damage estimates ranged from $50 to $4,000 per incident and more than $12,000 overall.

The most expensive wreck caused by a city officer cost $1,822, according to the police department. The wrecks happened from June 2005 to October 2008, before Dwight C. Jones took office in January and ordered cuts of at least 50 percents to the unit's staff and fleet.

The wreck in Charles City wasn't significant enough to warrant a full report, and no charges were filed, Sheriff Smith said. Two Richmond officers were in the vehicle at the time, he said.

Citing security reasons, Pearson would not say why the officers were in Charles City at 1:40 a.m. on a Thursday. Wilder did not return a message left yesterday with his assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .