World News | Virginia capital police chief resigns amid scrutiny

RICHMOND (U.S.), Oct. 26 (AP) The police chief in Virginia’s capital city has resigned after months of scrutiny over his comments about an alleged shooting conspiracy.

Gerald Smith resigned Tuesday afternoon and will be on administrative leave until Dec. 31, according to a statement from a Richmond spokesman.

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Smith, who has been in charge for two and a half years, said at a July 6 news conference that two men planned to shoot during a July 4 fireworks display at the Dogwood Dell Amphitheatre.

The Richmond Times later reported that records obtained through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act showed Smith was told in writing before the news conference that the location of any potential incident was unknown. None of the people charged in the case have been charged with planning the mass shooting.

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Acting constable Major Richard Edwards has been provisionally appointed chief of police, while officers are searching across the country to replace Smith.

Smith’s July 6 news conference came two days after the shooting at the Independence Day parade in Illinois killed seven people. Smith said a “heroic citizen” contacted police after overhearing a conversation that suggested an attack was being planned at Richmond’s Independence Day celebrations.

Two suspects, both Guatemalan immigrants, were charged in state court with firearm possession by a non-U.S. citizen. The charges against the men were dropped after they were brought in federal court. Federal prosecutors have charged a man with possession of a firearm that was not a U.S. citizen. Another man was charged with entering the United States illegally.

Smith was named Chief of Police in July 2020 after previously leading the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Police Department. (Associated Press)

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