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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — City Council members were scheduled to be on summer recess this week. Instead, they'll return to the Del Pepper Community Resource Center on Wednesday night for a special legislative meeting with a single substantive item on the docket: a vote on whether to allow Alexandria's civilian police oversight board to reopen its investigation into the in-custody death of Allan F. Tucker II.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
The special session was called after the Independent Community Policing Review Board voted unanimously on July 1 to declare Independent Policing Auditor Ameratu Kamara's investigation incomplete — finding that her June 22 report left critical questions unanswered. Under city code, the board can recommend additional investigation, but the auditor cannot reopen a closed investigation without city council's approval.
The board's vote came too late for the council's regular legislative calendar. Council had been expected to take up the matter in September, but city officials moved to schedule a special session, shortening what could have been a months-long wait for the Tucker family and the public.
What the board wants answered
The board identified four areas it says need further investigation before it can issue a final decision:
The supervising sergeant's involvement in the incident. Kamara's June 22 report cleared the sergeant — a 24-year APD veteran — of policy violations but flagged his conduct for the board's further consideration. Board member Jeanne O'Toole, the board's retired law enforcement representative, said at the July 1 meeting she believed the sergeant's conduct reflected a supervisory failure: he directed officers to continue to the jail with lights and sirens, never raised the city's detox center as an alternative, and did not follow up on Tucker's condition during the roughly 40-to-45 minute wait in the sallyport.
Information in the report relating to the Sheriff's Office. Tucker was in APD custody when he died — intake at the Adult Detention Center had not yet occurred — but the sallyport wait and intake procedures involved Sheriff's Office operations the auditor has no jurisdiction to investigate. The board wants the information Kamara did gather about those interactions examined more closely.
Additional information about APD training. Board Secretary Suzanne Berkey said the board needs to know when the officers involved last received training on the medical-care and prisoner-transport policies at issue in the case. Kamara told the board she could not answer that question from the available evidence.
An explanation of why disciplinary recommendations are not included in the public report. This may be the most structurally significant item. State law classifies the auditor's disciplinary recommendations to the police chief as personnel records, shielding them from public disclosure. Board member Christopher Lewis, who made the motion to declare the investigation incomplete, said the board could not fulfill its oversight function without understanding what Kamara recommended — and suggested the board explore whether a confidential report to the board might be a permissible path. Vice Chair Alexis Stackhouse went further, asking for the full legal basis, case citations, and statutory language explaining the confidentiality rule. "I don't want somebody just telling me," Stackhouse said. "I want to be able to read it and do further research myself."
What Kamara has said
Kamara has indicated she is willing to proceed. "I have no issues going in and reinvestigating against the sergeant," she told the board on July 1, adding that she wanted to ensure the process followed the ordinance before she began. Her July 7 memo to council formally outlined the board's action and the need for council approval — and noted her office has already reallocated existing FY27 budget funds to ensure resources are available for outside counsel if needed.
What council will decide
Council can approve or deny the board's request. If approved, Kamara will reopen the investigation, complete the additional review, update her report as appropriate, and return the matter to the board for another public hearing and vote.
The board's final recommendation — once it reaches one — goes to Police Chief Tarrick McGuire, who has final authority over any corrective action, including discipline. If McGuire declines to follow the board's recommendation, he must put that decision in writing to the council, city manager, auditor, and the public within 30 days.
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 where a family member lived. Officers had responded to 911 calls reporting a man running through hallways, banging on doors, and acting erratically; Tucker, who was unarmed, did not resist arrest.
During transport, Tucker repeatedly asked the arresting officer to take him to the hospital as the patrol vehicle passed Inova Alexandria Hospital. The officer continued to the detention center. Tucker remained in the back of the patrol car for roughly 40 to 45 minutes as officers waited for intake; he was found unresponsive around 6:51 p.m. Officers administered Narcan and began CPR, but emergency personnel could not revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death accidental, attributing it to cocaine and cocaethylene intoxication. The Commonwealth's Attorney declined to file charges in January, citing the accidental ruling and a finding by the multi-jurisdictional Critical Incident Response Team that no officer's actions were causally connected to Tucker's death.
Kamara's June 22 report sustained policy violations against three of the four officers involved — including a finding that the arresting officer failed to seek medical care for Tucker after he requested it — and cleared the supervising sergeant while flagging his conduct for the board's review. Two of the three responding officers were reinstated to full duty in February after APD's internal investigation concluded; a third officer's status was not specified in public documents.
At the June 29 public hearing, Tucker's family members named officers during public comment and called for criminal charges. Tucker's sister, Brittany Tucker, described the process as having "a lot of twists and turns and hiding of hands along the way" and said the system as a whole "needs to be reviewed and reinforced."
The city council established the Office of the Independent Policing Auditor and the Independent Community Policing Review Board in April 2021, following a June 2020 resolution condemning police brutality and systemic racism. The Tucker case is among the first to fully test the oversight system in practice.
Wednesday's meeting can be attended in person at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center, 4850 Mark Center Drive, or virtually via Zoom (Webinar ID: 936 3488 6866; Passcode: 976447). It will also air on government channel 70 and stream on the city's website.
The Alexandria Brief has covered the Tucker case since his death in August 2025. Previous reporting includes the January no-charges decision, the auditor's June 22 findings, the June 29 public hearing, and the board's July 1 vote.
