Tag: Harrisonburg Police Department
Page 6/7
Data shows police use-of-force encounters are rare but disproportionately involve black people
Over the course of two years, 9,587 people were arrested in Harrisonburg, and during that time 86 encounters involved use of force— amounting to less than 1% of the arrest totals. But the confrontations in which an officer used force beyond handcuffing a person disproportionately involved black people, according to arrest and use-of-force data the Harrisonburg Police Department released Friday.
Advertisement
‘It’s like putting Band-Aids on a broken house’
Even after Harrisonburg’s police chief has spent much of the nearly two years in the job reviewing and implementing department policies, the efforts haven’t prevented black JMU students from fearing the police.
Advertisement
Volunteers harness ingenuity and 3-D printers to make 2,800 face shields for health workers and first responders
Donating 1,200 clear plastic face shields to Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital was already a big undertaking, but a local group of volunteers with access to 3-D printers has kept going — producing protective equipment to donate to organizations and first responders, including more than 250 face shields to the Harrisonburg Fire Department.
Advertisement
City police prepared to enforce social distancing, but no citations issued yet
After a spike last week in the number of local COVID-19 cases (soon followed by the city’s first confirmed outbreak in a nursing home) Harrisonburg officials used a press release to emphasize the importance of “strict social distancing measures” and remind people that compliance isn’t technically optional.
Advertisement
Intern Spotlight: Calvin’s First Year at Princeton
Jun 26, 2026
Intern Spotlight: Calvin’s First Year at Princeton
Expanded Harrisonburg Police Auxiliary looking for a few good people
The Harrisonburg Police Department has a new Wanted list featuring zero people suspected of committing crimes. Rather, after a recent ordinance amendment by city council, the police auxiliary is expanding from 25 to 35 officers.
Woman who was tased and charged with felonies after police responded to a noise complaint at her apartment found not guilty on all counts
A woman facing two felonies after a controversial altercation with police last December has been cleared of all charges. Melissa Duncan, charged with two counts of assault of a police officer and a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge, was found not guilty on Wednesday afternoon after a contentious trial on Tuesday.
‘More accountability than I’ve ever seen in a court.’ How restorative justice is embedded in the Harrisonburg Police Department
On a bright fall afternoon, Officer Jason Hensley was on patrol, riding through Harrisonburg in an unmarked cruiser with a trainee officer at the wheel. Hensley had rolled down the passenger side window to take in the cool breeze and casually draped his arm against the outside of the door. The car had just passed a wooded area when Hensley heard a sharp crack.
This is only a drill – though an invaluable one for local first responders
“This is an exercise,” Stephanie Harris told the crowd about to take part in a Monday morning training exercise with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Around her were about 160 volunteer “victims” of a simulated gas explosion at JMU’s Bridgeforth Stadium, along with dozens of rescue and security personnel that would be responding to the disaster.
