By Harry Minium and Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Va. — Acting Police Chief Sharon Chamberlin broke her silence Tuesday on the flow of information surrounding the death of a police recruit, saying she and another senior officer told former Chief Bruce P. Marquis about blows to the recruit’s head.
Marquis, forced to retire effective last week, has said Chamberlin and his other top administrators did not adequately inform him about John Kohn being struck in the head.
“I’m extremely hurt” he made that assertion, Chamberlin said. “The chief was briefed all along.”
Chamberlin said she declined to be interviewed last week following the release of records on Kohn’s death because of a likely lawsuit. She said she is now speaking out because her honesty has been impugned.
“I’ve got 36 years with the city and the police department, and my integrity is being challenged.”
Marquis reiterated his contention Tuesday, saying, “I am not wavering whatsoever from my position in this.”
After a 20-minute closed City Council discussion on the issue Tuesday, Councilman Paul R. Riddick called for an investigation from an outside agency into what Marquis was told and when.
Riddick said his request drew no support. However, City Manager Marcus Jones said he is conducting his own investigation.
Said Marquis: “While I am not asking for an investigation, I would certainly welcome an investigation if there were to be one.”
Marquis issued a statement on Dec. 21 that mentioned only a collision between Kohn and another recruit as the probable cause of death. However, media outlets reported on Jan. 13 that city documents indicated Kohn was struck in the head by instructors.
At a news conference in January, Marquis insisted that his senior assistants had not adequately informed him of strikes to Kohn’s head at the time he issued the statement.
A record recently released by the city attorney showed that information about head strikes was not mentioned in a report sent to Marquis by Chamberlin.
The report was forwarded on Dec. 22, the day after Marquis had issued his news release.
However, Chamberlin said Assistant Chief Vernon R. Simmons told Marquis that Kohn was struck in the head at a meeting she attended on Dec. 20. “It was a very detailed briefing,” Chamberlin said.
She and Marquis also discussed head strikes during a meeting on Dec. 21, she said.
She said that when she emailed a report to Marquis on Dec. 22, she believed the report was complete. At the time, she said, the collision appeared to be the cause of death.
The medical examiner has not released a cause of death.
“The preliminary autopsy cited the collision,” she said. “That was the information we responded with.”
Capt. Paul Galligan had sent the report to Chamberlin. An earlier report he had been given mentioned that Kohn had complained of a headache and nausea before the collision and sparring with Officer Leldon Sapp, but he did not forward that information to Chamberlin, records show.
The report noted that during ground-fighting exercises, “Officer Sapp struck the recruit a few times before the scenario was stopped.”
She said she did not view a video of Sapp striking Kohn in the head until Jan. 13, the day the video was released to the media. The video and other evidence had been in the possession of police detectives investigating Kohn’s death, she said.
The video and witness statements indicate Sapp repeatedly struck Kohn, who lost consciousness. Head strikes were part of the drill for all recruits.
Chamberlin would not comment on the video, citing the possible lawsuit. But in hindsight, she said, she now believes the news release should have included a reference to head strikes.
“We have made mistakes. We are not perfect. We’ve got things we need to improve, and we’re going to do that.”
In her role as senior assistant chief, Chamberlin oversaw Galligan and the department’s personnel and training division. She was made acting chief after Marquis’ retirement, which became effective last week.
Chamberlin sent an email to the department Monday praising officers for their work and saying “improvement is definitely possible” in “our internal processes.”
“Today is a new day for the Norfolk Police,” the email said. “The Assistant Chiefs and I are working together to shape that new day.
“In order to strengthen this department, I need the help of each and every one of its members.”
Galligan on March 7 had been made acting assistant chief over training and other divisions but was bumped back to captain on Friday, a department spokeswoman said.
Chamberlin declined to comment on Galligan’s status, saying it’s “a personnel issue.”
Councilman Tommy Smigiel said Jones would have forced Marquis to retire even if he had not issued the controversial statements about Kohn’s death.
“We were told he was not a good fit for Marcus’ leadership team,” he said.
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