Alexandria City Council unanimously approves reopening Tucker investigation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria City Council voted Wednesday night unanimously to approve a request from the city's civilian police oversight board to reopen the investigation into the in-custody death of Allan F. Tucker Jr., clearing the procedural path for Independent Policing Auditor Ameratu Kamara to conduct additional review of the case.

The 7-0 vote, taken during a special legislative session called while council was on summer recess, came just under a month after the Independent Community Policing Review Board declared Kamara's June 22 investigation incomplete and asked her to return with answers to questions the board said went unresolved in her final report. Because the session was a legislative meeting rather than a public hearing, no public testimony was taken. Tucker family members were present in the chamber but did not address council.

The meeting lasted 23 minutes. Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley participated remotely.

What council approved

Kamara told council the board's July 1 vote identified three specific areas for additional investigation: a deeper examination of the supervising sergeant's role in the incident; additional information about APD's training structure, including when officers last received refresher training on body-worn camera policy and medical transport; and an explanation — with full legal authority and citations — of why her disciplinary recommendations to Police Chief Tarrick McGuire are not included in her public report.

Those three items were the scope of the board's formal vote. In a subsequent July 17 letter to council, the board also raised a fourth area: questions about the accuracy of information in the report relating to the Sheriff's Office, including the role of Sheriff's Office staff in providing medical assistance during the sallyport wait. That item was not part of the July 1 vote but was included in the letter the board sent to Mayor Gaskins, council, the city manager, the police chief, and the auditor.

Councilman Aguirre moved to approve the request. Councilwoman Marks added a friendly amendment, accepted by Aguirre, directing Kamara to refer to the board's formal July 17 letter for additional context on each of the three areas as she conducts the review — a move intended to capture the full intent behind the board's request without formally expanding the scope of the vote.

A legal question

The meeting's substantive discussion centered on the disciplinary recommendations item, which raised a tension between what the board is asking for and what the law allows.

Deputy City Attorney Meghan Roberts told council that while the board has access to disciplinary findings and recommendations — and may discuss them in closed session under a new state law, HB 1476, that took effect this year — those recommendations cannot be made part of Kamara's public report. What Kamara agreed to include, and what council approved, is an explanation in the report of why those recommendations are withheld and the legal authority behind that limitation.

Councilman Elnoubi pressed Roberts on an apparent conflict: language in the memorandum of understanding governing the oversight system says the auditor "shall submit a final investigative report, including findings and any disciplinary recommendations." Roberts, who serves as deputy city attorney for internal services and human resources, said that language is a drafting error in the MOU — not in the city ordinance itself — and that the city plans to address it. "It's a mistake in the MOU that needs to be updated," she said.

Kamara underscored the distinction between her authority and the chief's. "I can recommend discipline. I cannot impose it," she said. "The final say is with Chief McGuire." She added that whether disciplinary recommendations are acted upon is ultimately the department's decision to communicate — not hers.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins framed the explanation requirement as a matter of public education. "Anybody who reads that report may not have been in these meetings or been in these conversations," she said, "but it provides them with the information to know why that information is not here." Kamara agreed. "From a transparency standpoint, a public education standpoint, that's why I agreed to include the statement in my report," she said.

Vice Mayor Bagley, participating remotely, pressed for clarity on what exactly the auditor was committing to produce before the vote was taken. "I just don't want to set up an unsatisfactory outcome that was never really on the table potentially," she said, adding that she wanted it established on the record that the disciplinary recommendations themselves would remain confidential even as an explanation of their absence would be added to the report. She said she was satisfied with the clarification provided.

Councilwoman Marks, in her comments before the vote, said the accountability question underlying the disciplinary recommendations issue is one she hears broadly. "I think there is a general feeling, at least among people I've discussed this with, that people are entitled in some way to understand that disciplinary actions have been made in order to understand if the officers for whom findings were made are being held to account," she said.

A September target

Kamara declined to commit to a specific date but said completing the additional review will be a priority. "Because of the amount of time this has already taken, this will be a priority," she said. She said her goal is to return findings to the board within 30 days. The board's next scheduled meeting is August 5, which Kamara indicated the Tucker case will miss; the following meeting is September 2.

Background

Tucker, 32, of Woodbridge, died Aug. 15, 2025, in the sallyport of the Alexandria Adult Detention Center after being arrested for public intoxication near an apartment building in the 2800 block of North Beauregard Street. He was in APD custody for roughly 40 to 45 minutes, waiting for jail intake, when officers found him unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner ruled his death accidental, attributing it to cocaine and cocaethylene intoxication.

The Commonwealth's Attorney declined to file charges in January, and Kamara's June 22 report sustained policy violations against three of the four officers involved — including a finding that the arresting officer continued transporting Tucker to the detention center after he repeatedly asked to be taken to the hospital as the patrol vehicle passed Inova Alexandria Hospital. At a June 29 public hearing, Tucker's family members called for criminal charges against the officers. The board voted 6-0 on July 1 to declare the investigation incomplete.

Once Kamara completes the additional review, she will return to the board with a supplemental or updated report. The board will then hold another public hearing and vote before issuing a final recommendation to Chief McGuire, who has final authority over any corrective action, including discipline.