CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – A former U.S. attorney will lead an independent review of Charlottesville’s response to three white nationalist rallies, the largest of which ended in deadly violence, the city announced Friday.
Tim Heaphy, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, will evaluate how the city prepared for and responded to a May torch-light rally, a Ku Klux Klan gathering in July and the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” rally, the city said in a news release.
The scope of his investigation will extend beyond the Charlottesville Police Department. Heaphy intends to interview agency representatives, law enforcement and government officials, and members of the community, including protesters, counter-protesters, and onlookers at each event, officials said.
“Our review will be thorough and objective, and will begin immediately. I look forward to presenting a comprehensive summary of what occurred in and around the protest events, and to formulating practical recommendations for improved future response,” Heaphy said in a statement.
Mayor Mike Signer posted on Facebook that he expects the review to take at least three months, and urged that it be done quickly to enable healing, and to prepare the community for future protests, because “organizers of these events have vowed to return to Charlottesville.”