Petersburg City Council members got feedback from the Police Department last week about recommendations from an independent efficiency review that highlighted several flaws in the department and other city agencies. Police Chief John Dixon III said the department has implemented several of the study’s recommendations, including addressing racial tensions within the department. But he said he would not support recommendations to eliminate community-policing initiatives.

“You are driving home, exhausted from work, lugging groceries and carrying your child in the back seat. Lights, police, and roadblocks await you. Your car is stopped, an armed officer comes over, and you must roll down your window. Your child begins crying. You must now prove to the police officer’s satisfaction that you have the right to drive down your own block.“

Every 45 days or so, Richmond’s federal, state and local law-enforcement brass gather to do something that they say happens nowhere else in the country. They sit down as one body for closed-door sessions to pick targets—the trouble spots and the thugs causing the city’s biggest violent crime headaches. Then they agree on what to do about them—jointly.

The following Henrico County Division of Police personnel will be recognized for their recent promotions at 4 p.m. Dec. 15, 2008, in the shared classrooms of the Training Center, Parham and Shrader roads. They are: Communications Supervisor Steve Weis to Emergency Communications Manager Communications Officer Devona Hill to Communications Supervisor

Residents of Richmond’s Forest Hill neighborhood last night presented $300 in gift cards as thanks to the police officers who watch over. Members of the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association invited officers to their annual holiday party at the Stone House at Forest Hill Park. Grace LeRose presented gift cards to police Lt. Scott Booth, who oversees Sector 312, which includes Forest Hill. The cards are from restaurants and other businesses in the neighborhood.

Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood has named Maj. David M. McCoy assistant chief and promoted two other veterans to the rank of major. Norwood, the former police chief in Bridgeport, Conn., announced the promotions yesterday, one month after he was sworn in as Richmond’s chief. The changes are effective immediately. Promoted from captain to major were John Venuti, a 24-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, and Eric English, who joined the department in 1990.

Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood has named Maj. David M. McCoy assistant chief and promoted two other veterans to the rank of major. Norwood, the former police chief in Bridgeport, Conn., announced the promotions yesterday, one month after he was sworn in as Richmond’s chief. The changes are effective immediately. Promoted from captain to major were John Venuti, a 24-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, and Eric English, who joined the department in 1990.

Thanksgiving came a week early in South Richmond. Several hundred people gathered at Bringing God’s Word to Life Ministries Church on Bryce Lane last night to give thanks and take home bags of food and a turkey courtesy of officers of the Richmond Police Department’s 2nd Precinct.

A Richmond woman who accused Henrico County police of abusing her during an arrest was convicted yesterday of multiple charges linked to the incident. A Henrico judge, pointedly referring to a prior conviction in Richmond for resisting arrest, sentenced Deontra C. Johnson to one month in jail yesterday in connection with a traffic stop that ended with Johnson being repeatedly Tasered by a Henrico police officer.

For approximately two hours tomorrow afternoon, new Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood will once again be a cop on the street.

At least three people were hurt this morning in a crash that occurred during a pursuit involving Richmond police. The crash occurred shortly after 1 a.m. in the city’s Fan District on Park Avenue near the Stuart Avenue intersection. A Richmond police officer and two suspects were among the injured, and all were taken to hospitals for treatment.

GLENVAR—A Roanoke County police recruit may not pass the driving portion of her evaluation. The recruit was practicing a low-speed driving exercise yesterday when she drove down an embankment and crashed the cruiser upside down in a creek. Roanoke County Lt. Chuck Mason says the recruit and an instructor were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Their names were not released.

Two juveniles were injured this morning in a pursuit by Chesterfield County police that ended in a crash. The two were transported to VCU Medical Center in Richmond after the 2 a.m. crash for treatment of injuries that police said were not life-threatening. Police said the incident began when an officer on patrol at George W. Carver Middle School, near Harrowgate Road just north of Colonial Heights, spotted a suspicious vehicle, approached it and signaled for it to stop.