Virginia Beach officer cleared in mall incident

A Virginia Beach police sergeant who wrongly handcuffed and detained an innocent Black man at Lynnhaven Mall last month has been cleared of wrongdoing, but will be disciplined for not wearing a face mask during the incident, the city’s police chief told City Council members Tuesday.

Chief Paul Neudigate announced the findings during a briefing to the council. He said the determination was the result of a two-week investigation into whether the officer violated any laws or department policies on Dec. 19, when he handcuffed and detained Virginia Beach resident Jamar Mackey.

The incident was captured on a cellphone video recorded by Mackey’s fiancee that quickly went viral.

While the sergeant’s actions may not have violated any laws or policies, Neudigate said the department will be taking several steps, including updating its training, to make sure an incident like it doesn’t happen again.

“No one wants this to happen,” the chief said. “An apology is certainly warranted, but it was all reasonable and in accordance with the law.”

Among the things the investigation considered was whether the sergeant’s actions were acceptable based on what he knew when he approached Mackey, Neudigate said.

The sergeant, identified by Neudigate as Sgt. Coffrin, was given a description of a suspect wanted for stealing a car and purse, and then using credit cards from the purse in the mall, the chief said. He was described as a Black man, wearing all black clothes, with a dreads hairstyle, and accompanied by a child wearing a red top.

A friend of the woman whose purse was stolen also identified Mackey as the suspect just moments before Mackey was detained, Neudigate said.

The chief showed council members side-by-side photos showing Mackey, 32, and the man who eventually was arrested and charged with the thefts: 29-year-old Markee Smith. Both men were in the mall’s food court when they were stopped by police.

The photos show the men standing outside the mall. Both are Black, with long dreads, dressed in all-black clothing, and standing next to a boy with a red top on.

While Mackey was immediately handcuffed and escorted out of the mall, Smith was not handcuffed until he made incriminating statements to the officers who approached him, Neudigate said.

“When we evaluate the stop and evaluate the circumstances based on the factors that were just presented, all the information the sergeant knew at the time, we concluded that the sergeant had reasonable suspicion to detain Mr. Mackey,” Neudigate said.

The sergeant and another officer with him, however, were wrong to not be wearing face masks and will be disciplined for it, the chief said. He didn’t specify what that punishment would be.

Mackey tested positive for COVID-19 just three days after the incident. He was eating lunch when the officer approached him and had his mask pulled down to his chin.

Coffrin was tested for the virus afterwards and the results were negative, Neudigate told the council.