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Police wear riot-control gear during a Black Lives Matter protest last June. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News) Virginia Democrats continued to push for legislation this session to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct. But most of those efforts to “police the police” were cut short. A proposal to require police agencies to release body-worn camera footage to the public following use-of-force incidents failed to pass the House of Delegates. This disappointed police reform advocates like Chelsea Higgs Wise. “The conversations about releasing the body cam tapes, for me, really said that we’re not going to listen to community voices,” she said. “When we say we need to hear the tapes, when we say our side of the story, legislators said, ‘We’re still going to take the word of cops.’” ....
Groups that oppose legalizing marijuana speak out Marijuana bud (FILE) (Source: MIke Fussell, WAVE 3 News) By Joe Dashiell | January 19, 2021 at 10:10 PM EST - Updated January 19 at 10:22 PM RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - A General Assembly subcommittee began work on marijuana legislation Tuesday, as a coalition of opponents spoke out against legalization. Members of the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services - Subcommittee on Marijuana heard from the public, but most of their discussion centered on how the state should regulate the industry. “I don’t see how this fits in ABC,” Sen. Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover) said of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. “I think it has to be a separate entity.” ....