Charleston Lawyers Demand Police Accountability for Black Residents
By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
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A group of Charleston, West Virginia attorneys has recently intensified calls for a city council investigation into the Charleston Police Department (CPD). These lawyers point to a deeply troubling pattern of brutal incidents against Black residents. The cases include officers punching a Black teen in the face, forcing a Black woman to the ground during a raid, and hitting a Black man on a scooter with a police car (amplaw.com). They submitted a formal complaint in November 2025, requesting a full investigation into alleged misconduct within the department (amplaw.com).
These attorneys assert that Charleston leaders have discussed reform for years, yet the same discriminatory patterns remain (amplaw.com). They are now pushing for real discipline and stronger oversight. Cosmetic changes, like new unit names and training without proper follow-through, are no longer acceptable (amplaw.com). This situation highlights a long-standing struggle for justice and equitable policing for Black residents in West Virginia’s capital city.
Persistent Police Violence in Charleston
The current demands from Charleston attorneys stem from a series of recent events that underscore ongoing issues of police violence against Black residents. The lawyers state they possess videos of multiple incidents, including an assault on a juvenile (amplaw.com). They highlighted specific actions, such as officers punching a Black teen in the face and hitting a Black man on a scooter with a police car, as evidence of persistent misconduct (amplaw.com). Furthermore, the lawyers also referenced an incident involving officers forcing a Black woman to the ground during a raid (amplaw.com).
These incidents fuel a deep-seated frustration within the community. The attorneys emphasize that despite numerous conversations about systemic change, the same harmful practices continue (amplaw.com). They seek genuine accountability, advocating for robust oversight and meaningful consequences for officers who engage in misconduct. Superficial reforms have proven insufficient to address the systemic issues plaguing the Charleston Police Department (amplaw.com).
A Deep-Rooted History of Racial Discrimination
The issues currently being raised by Charleston’s legal community are far from new; instead, they echo decades of concerns regarding police violence and racial discrimination. As far back as the early 1990s, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documented troubled police-community relations in Charleston (amplaw.com). This independent, bipartisan agency investigates civil rights issues and makes recommendations to the President and Congress (acluwv.org). Its findings carry significant weight, informing legislative debates and advocacy efforts (acluwv.org). During its forums, witnesses described negative police attitudes toward people of color, leading to discriminatory law enforcement practices, verbal abuse, and physical altercations (amplaw.com).
Moreover, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of West Virginia began monitoring police activity in the mid-1990s and reported a “staggering number of complaints” (amplaw.com). These complaints included claims of physical brutality, with Charleston identified as an area of particular concern (amplaw.com). The ACLU is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution (acluwv.org). It actively litigates cases challenging unconstitutional policing practices, monitors law enforcement agencies, and advocates for legislative reforms to promote police accountability (acluwv.org). A significant legal challenge arose in 2003 when the ACLU of West Virginia filed a lawsuit against Charleston city and law enforcement officials, alleging racial profiling (amplaw.com). Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice by law enforcement, targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on their race or ethnicity rather than on objective evidence (acluwv.org). This practice erodes trust between communities and law enforcement (acluwv.org).
This 2003 lawsuit involved three African American college students who were stopped by nine officers with guns drawn (amplaw.com). The suit accused law enforcement of violating the students’ Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment rights, as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (amplaw.com). The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government (acluwv.org). It requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before conducting searches or arrests (acluwv.org). The Fourteenth Amendment ensures equal protection under the law for all citizens and guarantees due process (acluwv.org). Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (acluwv.org). This means police departments receiving federal funds cannot engage in discriminatory policing practices (acluwv.org). Throughout this period, recurring themes included stereotyping of racial minorities, disproportionate stops and arrests, and the use of excessive force (amplaw.com). Reports from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights further pointed to the predominantly white, male composition of law enforcement and inadequate training as contributing factors to poor community relations (amplaw.com). Resistance from law enforcement agencies to establishing citizen review boards and an acknowledged “wall of silence” within police departments have historically hindered accountability (amplaw.com). Citizen review boards are independent bodies composed of public members, tasked with overseeing police conduct and investigating complaints to ensure transparency and public trust (acluwv.org). The “Wall of Silence,” also known as the “Blue Wall,” is an informal code among police officers that discourages reporting colleagues’ misconduct, making investigations difficult and undermining public trust (acluwv.org).
Charleston’s Disproportionate Arrests
This bar chart illustrates the significant disparity between the percentage of Black residents in Charleston and their representation in arrests around 2016 (amplaw.com).
Reforms That Did Not Stick
The lawyers’ current grievances are deeply rooted in a history of reform efforts that have, according to critics, failed to fundamentally alter policing patterns. In 2015, the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) began research into racial discrimination in policing (amplaw.com). CAJM is a broad-based organization of congregations that works together to address community problems, often focusing on systemic issues such as criminal justice reform (acluwv.org). This research revealed significant concerns, leading to a publicized collaboration in 2016-2017 between the Charleston Police Department (CPD) and various community groups (amplaw.com). These partners included the ACLU, NAACP-Charleston, and the Black Ministerial Alliance (amplaw.com). The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is a well-known civil rights organization working to ensure equality for all people and eliminate race-based discrimination (acluwv.org). The Black Ministerial Alliance typically consists of African American pastors and religious leaders who unite to address social, economic, and political issues affecting the Black community (acluwv.org).
Together, they developed an eight-point plan aimed at improving race relations and addressing racial disparities in arrests (amplaw.com). The proposed measures included de-escalation and implicit bias training, the publication of monthly arrest statistics by race, and the implementation of body cameras (amplaw.com). De-escalation training teaches officers techniques to reduce the intensity of conflicts and resolve situations peacefully, aiming to avoid or minimize the use of force (acluwv.org). Implicit bias training helps officers recognize their unconscious biases, which can affect their decisions and lead to biased policing, aiming for more equitable outcomes (acluwv.org). Additionally, other common elements of such reform plans often involve strengthening civilian oversight, transparent data collection, revising use-of-force policies, and reforms in officer recruitment (acluwv.org). Despite these initiatives, statistical data from around 2016 showed a stark reality: Black residents, who made up approximately 12 percent of Charleston’s population, accounted for a disproportionate 28-30 percent of arrests (amplaw.com). Furthermore, Black individuals were more than three times as likely as white individuals to be arrested for drug possession, even though self-reported drug usage rates were similar across racial groups (amplaw.com).
A racial bias audit commissioned in 2019 further supported these disparities (amplaw.com). This audit, which followed renewed calls for accountability, found that Black citizens were disproportionately subjected to traffic stops (amplaw.com). It also noted that use-of-force policies were unclear and inconsistently applied, and officers often failed to report relevant data properly (amplaw.com). A preliminary report from this audit specifically revealed that 61 percent of Charleston Police’s use-of-force incidents involved Black individuals, compared to 37 percent involving white individuals (amplaw.com). Racial bias audits are typically initiated by city councils or police departments to identify and rectify discriminatory practices (acluwv.org). Their recommendations often include changes to police policies, training protocols, and data collection practices (acluwv.org). These findings strongly support the lawyers’ assertion that “city leaders talked about reform for years yet kept the same patterns in place” (amplaw.com).
Use of Force Targets Black Residents (2019)
This bar chart displays the racial disparity in Charleston Police’s use-of-force incidents based on a preliminary report from the 2019 racial bias audit (amplaw.com).
The Freda Gilmore Incident: A Stark Example
One of the prominent cases that has drawn significant scrutiny and embodies the lawyers’ concerns is the October 2019 arrest of Freda Gilmore, a Black woman with special needs (amplaw.com). Dashcam video from this incident clearly showed a Charleston police officer kneeing Gilmore in the head and punching her with a closed fist four times (amplaw.com). This occurred while she was already being restrained on the ground by another officer (amplaw.com). The brutality captured on video deeply disturbed many in the community.
Despite the graphic nature of the footage, an internal review concluded that the officers had followed department policy (amplaw.com). This finding highlights a critical issue: if such actions are deemed compliant, the department’s policy itself is severely problematic (acluwv.org). Such policies might broadly permit certain physical tactics against resistant individuals, even if restrained, or the internal review could have interpreted the officers’ actions as falling within permissible parameters (acluwv.org). After the incident, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin advocated for updates to the use-of-force policy, and the city ultimately approved an $80,000 settlement for Gilmore in July 2020 (amplaw.com). Policy updates typically aim to clarify when and how force can be used, emphasize de-escalation, or restrict certain tactics deemed dangerous or unnecessary (acluwv.org). This case directly reflects the lawyers’ concern about officers “forcing a Black woman to the ground during a raid” (amplaw.com). It serves as a powerful reminder of how existing policies and a lack of independent oversight, compounded by the “wall of silence,” can hinder true accountability for police misconduct ((amplaw.com), (acluwv.org)).
Systemic Issues Across West Virginia
Beyond individual incidents, broader statistical trends continue to highlight systemic issues within West Virginia law enforcement, including in Charleston. The ACLU of West Virginia’s 2020 Police Misconduct Report revealed a pervasive lack of transparency and accountability across the state’s law enforcement agencies (amplaw.com). The report found that many agencies failed to maintain adequate public records regarding use of force and misconduct (amplaw.com). A significant number also ignored public records requests, which is a violation of state law (amplaw.com). This widespread non-compliance makes it exceedingly difficult to track and address patterns of abuse.
Furthermore, the ACLU report estimated that at least 1,000 individuals are subjected to police violence in West Virginia annually (amplaw.com). “Police violence” in this context encompasses a broad range of incidents, including excessive physical force, unwarranted use of less-lethal weapons, wrongful arrests that cause harm, and even severe verbal abuse or intimidation resulting in distress (acluwv.org). This statistic paints a grim picture of the prevalence of harmful police actions. Adding to the concern, between 2015 and 2019, the Charleston Police Department itself saw an increase in its own use-of-force incidents, rising from 156 to 196 incidents (amplaw.com). The lawyers are advocating for meaningful change, urging the city to move beyond cosmetic reforms and implement “real discipline and stronger oversight instead of new unit names and new trainings with weak follow-through” (amplaw.com). Their demands for a full investigation and public release of findings reflect deep frustration with persistent disparities and a lack of accountability. This illustrates the ongoing struggle for justice and equitable policing for Black residents in Charleston, West Virginia. The investigation’s current status would typically involve city council deliberation, a vote to initiate, or referral to a committee (acluwv.org). Such processes can take time, but the demand itself underscores the urgency of the situation.
Rising Police Force in Charleston (2015-2019)
This bar chart shows the increase in use-of-force incidents reported by the Charleston Police Department between 2015 and 2019 (amplaw.com).
About the Author
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.
