The Leesburg Town Council in Virginia is moving forward with creating a citizen task force to review the need for a police advisory commission.
The town council passed the measure to create the task force on a narrow 4-3 vote on Tuesday.
The task force will evaluate the Leesburg police department’s policies and protocols including training guidelines, citizen engagement and educational outreach.
Mayor Kelly Burk and council members Suzanne Fox and Kari Nacy voted against the measure.
“This is not the right time to be doing this and we have to be very careful what we do and how we do it,” Burk said during a meeting.
“There is nothing wrong at this point with the Leesburg Police Department.”
Other council members supported the measure, including Vice Mayor Fernando “Marty” Martinez, who in past meetings has said the task force could help improve community trust in law enforcement.
Each member of the council will appoint a Leesburg resident to the task force.
According to the resolution, task force members must have experience or familiarity with police policies, procedures, and law enforcement operations.
Members cannot be involved with human resource issues or personal matters within the Leesburg police department.
Representatives from the Leesburg police department, the town manager’s office and town attorney’s office will offer support.
The task force will present a report on their findings to the council in six months.
