Virginia law enforcement officials are voicing deep concerns that Attorney General–elect Jay Jones could undermine public safety and drive officers out of the profession, citing a string of past statements and actions they say reveal hostility toward police and a disregard for law and order.
Jones, a former Democrat state lawmaker, has faced mounting scrutiny since the surfacing of 2022 text messages in which he told Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner that House GOP Leader Todd Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head” and suggested police might stop shooting people if “a few police died.
He has since scaled back his rhetoric, but many in uniform say the damage has already been done, reports The Washington Free Beacon on Friday.
“Some people are going to leave the profession,” Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, said.
“Some of them are going to be leaving the state,” he added. “Some of them are going to be retiring early.”
Kennedy warned that depleted ranks and declining applicant quality may become long-term consequences unless future elections bring a course correction, even though he thinks many officers will still “soldier on.”
Concerns extend beyond Jones’ texts.
Questions about his commitment to law enforcement resurfaced after an investigation revealed he logged 500 hours of court-ordered community service through his own political action committee following a speeding conviction.
During his 2021 attorney general campaign, Jones described the state’s policing system as having “a well-known history of racism,” pledged to impose implicit-bias training, and called for ending both cash bail and qualified immunity.
Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said Jones faces a steep climb in establishing trust with police.
Ending qualified immunity “would be devastating to the law enforcement profession,” while eliminating cash bail “would be real problematic for the safety of our citizens,” Chapman said.
Remarks such as the “two bullets to the head” comment, he added, raise doubts about Jones’ respect for the “community confidence” officers work to maintain.
As attorney general, Jones will wield broad authority to direct investigations and prosecutions, including cases involving police conduct.
Wise County Sheriff E. Grant Kilgore said that role could have “a negative effect,” depending on how Jones approaches major cases.
“I have some concerns based on his history — everybody does, except most of the voters in blue counties in Virginia,” Kilgore said.
“I don’t think anybody at any level of society should say or do the things that he’s done,” he added.
Not all sheriffs share the alarm.
Fauquier County Sheriff Jeremy A. Falls stressed that law enforcement must uphold the law regardless of politics, and in Chesterfield County, Sheriff Karl Leonard said he hopes Jones succeeds because “anything but that is to wish ill will on Virginia.”
While Jones’ comments were “absolutely inappropriate,” Leonard said, “now he has the opportunity to demonstrate through his actions what kind of person he is.”
Still, police groups reacted sharply after Jones’ messages went public.
The Virginia Police Benevolent Association said Jones should decline to take office.
The Virginia Law Enforcement Sheriffs group called on him to withdraw, writing, “We will not follow an individual who has made such vile statements against citizens and the men and women in uniform.”
Several organizations filed complaints urging the Virginia State Bar to revoke Jones’ law license, as that could prevent him from assuming the office he is set to lead.
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