Donovon's
law
Donovon’s Law is named in honor of the beloved 25-year-old African American college graduate, entrepreneur, and former high school football and basketball all-star, Donovon Lynch, who was killed by a Virginia Beach Police Officer on March 26, 2021 at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Donovon was a 2014 graduate of Norfolk Christian School and a 2019 graduate of the University of Virginia College at Wise.There are many questions that remain unanswered regarding the circumstances of Donovon’s tragic killing.
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On October 28, 2020, Governor Ralph Northam signed House Bill 5055 and Senate Bill 5035 into law.
• This new law empowers localities to create Civilian Law Enforcement Review Boards. It also gives Civilian Review Boards the authority to issue subpoenas and make binding disciplinary decisions.
• We believe that this new law is a good start toward implementing oversight as an important first step toward police accountability and transparency in our communities.
• However, we also strongly believe that this recently approved Civilian Review Board Law falls short of its objective and is therefore flawed because it gives cities and municipalities the discretion to opt out of establishing a Civilian Review Board in their city.
• As a result, this current law gives cities an option to establish a Civilian Review Board that would provide oversight of the police department, which many cities have stubbornly refused.
• Donovon’s Law would fix this "flaw" in the current law by eliminating the discretionary option for municipalities and would instead make it mandatory that Virginia cities with a minimum population of 100,000 residents must be required to form a Civilian Review Board that will serve as an oversight authority of their local police department.
Our community
Our community believes that the passage of Donovon’s Law will ensure that no other family in Virginia will have to endure the same heart wrenching agony that the Lynch family has experienced in their effort to try to find out the truth about what happened to their son, their brother, their nephew, and their dear friend.
It is abundantly clear that Donovon’s Law needs to become a reality when you also consider the fact that he is yet another African American citizen who was killed by a police officer whose body camera was not activated. It was even more agonizing for all those who loved Donovon when they learned that even the Virginia Beach Police Chief himself could not explain why the Police Officer who killed Donovon did not have his body camera activated. We strongly believe that Donovon’s family and the public deserve to know the truth about what happened to this young man, who by all accounts, was an inspiring leader in our community who uplifted young people in Virginia Beach and beyond. Donovon’s Law will achieve that transparency.
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We the people
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WE THE PEOPLE demand more transparency and oversight of the police during these current tumultuous and traumatizing times for people of color who are being killed by the police almost weekly throughout America. Please join us in this effort by contacting the Governor’s Office, your State Senator and your State Delegate and tell them that you support The Campaign for Donovon’s Law because you demand transparency, the truth and nothing but the truth. For more information on how you can help us in this effort to make a positive change, please contact:
Jack Howard, Communications Coordinator (Volunteer), The Campaign for Donovon’s Law Phone: 757-717-0349 Email: u_howard@yahoo.com
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Contact
This is about accountability and justice for all. No man should be above the law, nor should no man be below it.
757.797.6373