THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502260078
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
City Councilman W. Randy Wright has criticized police-union complaints about Chief Melvin C. High.
``I thought it was a cheap shot,'' Wright said Saturday at a community forum on building partnerships between City Hall and Norfolk citizens.
About 200 people attended the meeting at Lafayette-Winona Middle School. Earlier in the day, most of the audience gave High a standing ovation when he was introduced.
Last week, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the Fraternal Order of Police released a survey that indicated dissatisfaction with High on questions about leadership and employee morale. The survey was answered by 410 of 667 Norfolk police.
On Friday, the City Council issued an official statement backing High.
``I'm 100 percent behind the chief of police,'' Wright said Saturday.
He urged neighborhood residents to publicly voice support for High. ``It's time for you to step up to the plate,'' he said.
Wright, who hopes to be the Democratic candidate for clerk of Circuit Court, has voiced other concerns about police during his tenure on the council.
He has been upset that about 70 percent of Norfolk's police live in other cities. In 1992, Wright tried to get the General Assembly to authorize a residency requirement for new municipal employees hired by Norfolk. by CNB