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2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 758
Commending Alfred Durham.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 4, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 7, 2019

 

WHEREAS, Alfred Durham, a respected law-enforcement officer who worked to make the Richmond community stronger and safer, retired as chief of the Richmond Police Department on December 31, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Alfred Durham has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, beginning with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia in 1987; he has also served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps on active duty and in the reserves; and

WHEREAS, Alfred Durham first joined the Richmond Police Department in 2005 as chief of staff for two years, then returned to the department in 2014 as deputy chief of administrative services; and

WHEREAS, after becoming chief of the Richmond Police Department in 2015, Alfred Durham made officer morale a high priority and was a staunch advocate for the department before the Richmond City Council; and

WHEREAS, by embracing community policing strategies, Alfred Durham fostered trust and mutual respect between the department and members of the public; under his leadership, the department assigned additional officers to the city’s public housing neighborhoods and promoted efforts to take illegal firearms off Richmond’s streets; and

WHEREAS, thanks in large part to Alfred Durham’s policies, Richmond saw a 21 percent decrease in homicides and a nine percent decrease in violent crime between 2017 and 2018; and

WHEREAS, Alfred Durham earned a reputation as a “24/7” police chief, making his presence felt at everything from community meetings and protests to street festivals and other events throughout the city; and

WHEREAS, Alfred Durham is an exemplar of the dedication to service and care for the community demonstrated by law-enforcement leaders throughout the Commonwealth, and he leaves the Richmond Police Department with a firm footing to continue providing exceptional service to the public; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Alfred Durham on the occasion of his retirement as chief of the Richmond Police Department; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Alfred Durham as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his achievements in service to the residents of Richmond.