HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
(757) 385-8374
MUNICIPAL CENTER
BUILDING 18
2424 COURTHOUSE DRIVE
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23456-9056
VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Thursday, March 10, 2015 - 4 p.m.
Municipal Center, Bldg. 19, T/R B
VIRGINIA BEACH HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION MEMBERS:
WM “CLIFF” RICE
CHAIR
VIVIAN E. BLAIZE
VICE-CHAIR
TERESA STANLEY
2nd VICE-CHAIR
BEATRIZ AMBERMAN
MICHAEL F. BERLUCCHI
THOMASINE CUBINE
GERALDINE KING HUNT
RAJEEB ISLAM
L.W. “DUFF” KLIEWER, JR.
nd
Members Present: Cliff Rice (Chair), Teresa Stanley (2 Vice-Chair), Rabbi Israel
Zoberman, Luis Rivera, Michael Berlucchi, Gavin Moulton, Thomasine Cubine,
Beatriz Amberman, Duff Kliewer, Vivian Blaize (Vice-Chair),
Members Absent: Mary Mathena, Sylvia Nery-Strickland, Father James Parke, Rajeeb
Islam, Reagan Bracknell, Geraldine Hunt, and Ronald Taylor
Guests: City Manager, Dave Hansen, Chief of Police James Cervera, Deputy City Manager
Cindy Curtis, Deputy Chief Pat Gallagher, Deputy Chief Tony Zucaro and Lt. John Gandy
Staff Present: Regina Hilliard-HR Director, Rod Ingram, Melissa Bowers, Kathy
Hinson (HRC Liaison) and Shelley Johnson
MARY MATHENA
AGENDA
SYLVIA NERY-STRICKLAND
I.
Call to Order/Roll Call/Minutes (February 2016)
Chairman Rice
II.
Citizen Comment
Chairman Rice
III.
Transportation/Light Rail
REAGAN BRACKNELL
GAVIN MOULTON
IV.
VBPD – 2015 Use of Force
Chief of Police
James Cervera
CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS:
V.
CAC Reports
Commissioners
VI.
Continuing Work of HRC Update
FATHER JAMES E. PARKE
LUIS A. RIVERA, MA Ed.
RONALD TAYLOR
RABBI ISRAEL ZOBERMAN
David L. Hansen
City Manager
STUDENT COMMISSION MEMBERS:
Enter
BOB DYER
SHANNON DS KANE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
All
VII. HRC Awards Program Update
All
VIII. Commissioner & Staff Remarks
All
IX.
All
REGINA S. HILLIARD, HR DIRECTOR
LEGAL COUNSEL:
ROD INGRAM, DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY
Adjournment
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION LIAISON:
KATHY HINSON
HRC Inquiries:
#’s
Type
Referral
2#’s
1 1 - Other
Type 1 – Employment
1. EEOC
2. Minority Business Council
Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes
March 11, 2016
2015
2
I. Call to Order/Roll Call/Minutes (February 2016)
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rice at 4:04 pm. The minutes for the February
2016 meeting were approved subject to no changes or corrections.
II. Citizen Comment
No citizen comments.
III. Transportation/Light Rail
City Manager, Dave Hansen provided a brief overview of Transportation /Tide expansion and the
impact to Hampton Roads including our local economy. City Council will be voting in April, 2016
on whether to sign two agreements with the state. The first agreement, a nonbinding
memorandum of understanding, keeps the project on track without delays. The second agreement
starts the process of buying three rail cars. The official City Council vote to extend Light Rail will
come in Spring of 2017.
The City Manager addressed the HRC with the question “What makes Light Rail so
controversial?” Hansen spoke about the City of Virginia Beach as a diverse city with great
opportunities to live and work. He referenced how Light Rail could make Virginia Beach a more
attractive community to Millennials and stressed the importance of economic growth. He also
addressed the current opposition to Light Rail expansion, of which John T. Atkinson, City
Treasurer, has been very outspoken. Through several meetings with John Atkinson, Hansen has
challenged detractors to provide an alternative that would be as economically beneficial as
expanding Light Rail.
Mr. Hansen shared that it will take roughly 3.4 miles to complete the rail which would connect the
two largest economic cities in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach and Norfolk. The Commonwealth
of Virginia must also look at building an economic partnership between other cities and potentially
expand Heavy Rail services from Washington DC to Richmond, VA and even further, to Charlotte,
North Carolina.
Commissioner Stanley commented that Light Rail expansion has human rights implications as well
as economic. The Light Rail provides connectivity. She applauded City leadership for their efforts
Rail and hopes that they consider the human rights aspects of Light Rail expansion as well as
connectivity to the Military Bases which would help to promote regionalism.
Commissioner Amberman remarked that many people depend on public transportation. She
challenged the City Manager to host where individuals would be encouraged to limit the use of
private vehicle transportation. Everyone should experience the challenges of living without a
license or a car and having to rely on public transportation. Commuting from one location to
another is very difficult for those who do not have access to private vehicles. Light rail would
alleviate many of these problems. This all-day public event could highlight transportation
challenges faced by fellow citizens.
Chairman Rice stated that he has had several conversations with John Atkinson about the need
for Light Rail. He stated that without good public transportation people are suffering. Chairman
Rice stated that the members of the HRC support expansion of Light Rail in Virginia Beach.
Commissioner Berlucchi introduced a motion for the Human Rights Commission to write a letter to
City Council in support of Light Rail expansion. This motion would highlight the Human Rights
Implications of the Light Rail;
 Light Rail will serve seniors who wish to remain in their own communities rather than in
segregated facilities.
 Light Rail is vital to people with low incomes or people of color, who own fewer cars and
tend to live further away from living-wage jobs.


Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes
March 11, 2016
2015
3
Light Rail would improve mobility for people with disabilities, many of whom are not able
to drive.
Light Rail would provide personal mobility and freedom for people from every walk of life
by improving citizens’ access to education, employment, housing, and healthcare.
Commissioner Amberman seconded the motion. All members agreed to this motion. Motion
carried.
IV. VBFD – 2015 Use of Force
th
In late 2015, a court ruling by the 4 Circuit Court of Appeals further restricted the need to be more
transparent, related to the “use of force”. Police Chief Cervera provided a presentation summarizing
the “use of force” by the City of Virginia Beach Police department in 2015.
Virginia Beach Police Officers responded to 173,451 calls for service, according to the 2015 yearend uniformed patrol call for service report. Roughly 1% (or 655) calls can be classified as having
“use of force” in order to gain control of a situation.
Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) has set a higher standard than many municipalities
when classifying instances of “use of force”. For VBPD, “use of force” is best described as anytime
an officer shows their weapon and/or pulls out their Taser. If there are three officers involved in a
situation and all three pull out their weapons, this would be recorded as three instances of “use of
force”.
Statistically, the “use of force” has declined between the years 2014 and 2015. Taser usage has
dropped by 28% from 80 instances in 2014 to 58 instances in 2015.
V.
CAC Reports
As a result of discussions at the HRC retreat, on February 19, 2016, Kathy created and distributed
a schedule for Commissioners to attend CAC meetings. Commissioners were advised that if they
cannot attend their scheduled CAC meeting, they should contact their fellow Commissioners on the
list, as well as Kathy so that another Commissioner can attend in their absence.
VI.
Continuing Work of the HRC Update
Commissioner Berlucchi commented that the Norfolk Police Department has employed a LGBT
liaison to assist with issues related to the LGBT community. Commissioner Berlucchi has asked
the City of Virginia Beach Police Department to consider creating this position as well.
Deputy Chief Gallagher responded that all City of Virginia Beach Police Officers receive training
related to “biases” but at this time the VBPD does not have a designated contact specifically for
LGBT related incidents.
VII.
HRC Awards Program Update
st
The Annual HRC Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, March 31 at the Virginia Beach
Convention Center and will begin at 7:00 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Deputy City Manager,
Cindy Curtis. The program theme is “Standing Together as a Community”. Kathy provided a
sample program for the Commissioners to review.
Commissioner Stanley encouraged her fellow Commissioners to attend and promote the event
within the community. She stressed the importance of the event, and challenged her fellow
commissioners to sell tickets.
Kathy asked for all Commissioners who plan to attend to please fill out a registration form, so she
Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes
March 11, 2016
2015
4
can assign them seating and include them in the final headcount. Kathy will email another copy
of the registration form to the Commissioners along with a flyer for the Awards Ceremony.
VIII.
Commissioner & Staff Remarks
Commissioner Blaize thanked Kathy for all of her hard work in coordinating the HRC Awards
Ceremony.
The Commissioners questioned the diversity of the panel working on the Light Rail expansion and
discussed a need to include representatives from both the Latino and African American
communities.
Commissioner Stanley thanked everyone who was able to attend the School to Prison event.
Virginia is number one in diverting children to the criminal justice program. The City of Norfolk has
the highest rate in the state for long-term school suspensions and Virginia Beach is number one in
the state for short- term school suspensions. People of color are disproportionally affected by
these suspension rates.
Commissioner Zoberman returned from Israel. During his visit he went to parliament and the
sovereign side of the wall. He described his experiences with the LGBT community in Israel and
brought a small gift for Commissioner Berlucchi from those interactions. Commissioner Zoberman
has also begun writing a monthly review column in the Virginia Beach Sun. He distributed a copy
of the current issue to each Commissioner.
Commissioner Amberman will attend the Hispanic Community Dinner, in Woodbridge, Virginia,
during the week of March 14, 2016. The Lieutenant Governor will be speaking. Commissioner
Amberman thanked Commissioner Zoberman for his efforts to open communication and provide
roads for understanding for people of all faiths.
Commissioner Berlucchi thanked Police Chief Cervera for allowing him to speak about LGBT
issues related to law enforcement. He expressed concern that there is currently no crime reporting
mechanism for violence against transgender people, and again highlighted the need for a specific
VBPD liaison for the LGBT community. He shared his experiences with the Norfolk Police
department, regarding the murder of a transgender woman in the City of Norfolk, which occurred
this year. Information shared with both the press and the news media misidentified the gender of
the victim as a male, which was very offensive to the transgender community. Commissioner
Berlucchi asked his fellow Commissioners to support his suggestion to designate a specific liaison
for the VBPD for LGBT related issues.
Commissioner Cubine thanked Lois Thompson for the tour of Mental Health Services at the
Virginia Beach Jail. The tour was informative and educational. Sherriff Stolle has designed a good
program and continues to focus on the needs of the mentally ill. The Virginia Beach Jail has
created a medical liaison position. This liaison acts as a mediator and communicator between
staff, medical professionals, and families. The Virginia Beach Jail also has a person from social
services, whose primary focus is on aftercare, specifically for mentally ill patients. The aftercare
person provides information on resources available to mentally ill persons who are leaving the jail
system. Commissioner Cubine also mentioned that members of Human Services will be speaking
at the April HRC meeting. She encouraged the Commissioners to ask the Human Services group
how they can assist in filling the gap with mental health support and medication for people who
leave the Virginia Beach Jail.
Commissioner Blaize supported Commissioner Berlucchi’s in his effort to establish a LGBT liaison
within the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Commissioners requested that their membership dues for the Virginia Association on Human
Rights to be paid by the City of Virginia Beach. Kathy will look in to funds available for the HRC
Committee members and coordinate the payment of said memberships with City funds.
Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes
March 11, 2016
2015
5
Commissioner & Staff Remarks (continued)
Chairman Rice thanked everyone for attending the retreat. He commented how impressed he was
with everyone’s input.
Chairman Rice will be attending the Humanitarian Awards in April.
IX.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:11 pm