VILLA RICA, Ga. — The Villa Rica Police Department showed a "lack of awareness and judgment" when picking the target of a June handgun training class, according to the conclusion of an independent investigation.
Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal ordered the investigation after the department faced intense backlash for sharing photos of a training class that showed people practicing on targets that depicted a Black man with a beanie pointing a gun. The photos were posted to the department's Facebook and then taken down.
Critics called the targets problematic and accused the department's training of being racist.
After conversations with the local NAACP leaders, an external review was conducted by retired LaGrange police chief Lou Dekmar. Dekamr is a 50-year veteran of law enforcement and a graduate of the FBI Academy and previously served as a federal monitor for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
According to the mayor, Dekmar produced a 111-page report with findings and recommendations.
“This report supports my initial belief that this choice was not intended to cause harm,” McDougal said in a prepared statement. “But I must also acknowledge that the anger we received was heartfelt and understandable. It represents a social issue that is much bigger than one incident in one small Georgia town.”
Villa Rica PD gets backlash over handgun training target
Villa Rica investigation findings
Dekmar narrowed down solutions to five specific recommendations including:
- Using silhouette targets.
- Avoid using targets that "disproportionately depict individuals from specific racial or ethnic backgrounds."
- Continued or enhanced training for officers to avoid reinforcing negative cultural stereotypes.
- Annual written tests associated with anti-bias training.
- For VRPD to continue offering educational programs that facilitate interaction and engagement with community members.
Further detail on the recommendations can be found on page 22 of the report.
The report reflects interviews with officers, firearm training participants, analysis of those arrested for traffic and other offenses and racial bias policies officers now follow.
Findings showed that the target used during the training was the only type used during the class, despite what the police chief originally believed.
"It is deeply concerning that no one within the WRPD present at the range recognized the potential implications of using targets depicting only a Black male armed with a revolver. This lack of awareness and judgment is acknowledged by the police chief, who expressed regret and apologized upon learning of the incident," Dekmar wrote in one of his findings.
Dekmar also reviewed policing data over the last five years.
According to the report, out of 36,254 traffic stops over the last five years, only four resulted in complaints of racial bias. Dekmar said he found no evidence of bias at the stops themselves, the report states.
He added that the anti-bias training officers receive "meets or exceeds accepted law enforcement standards" but didn't see a policy that states how often this training should occur. This led to his recommendation of more frequent training accompanied by written tests.
These findings are what led to Dekmar's conclusion that it wasn't a racially charged choice to select the target but a lack of awareness.
Action items for Villa Rica Police
At the Aug. 8 City Council meeting leaders approved for Villa Rica officers to take another implicit bias training which will be provided by the National Training Institute of Race and Equity, part of Morehouse College.
"Speaking for myself, I believe that this incident and the passionate response it has generated has a lesson to teach," the mayor said. "Ultimately, I believe that much of the anger directed toward us has very little to do with Villa Rica. It comes from an important national discussion on policing and civil rights that is going on outside our town and beyond our control."
Chief of Police Michael Mansour said his department is committed to transparency and accountability and will work to implement the suggested changes.
"We will diligently work to meet the expectations of our community and to strive daily to provide the fair, effective, and professional police services demanded by the citizens of Villa Rica," Mansour said in a prepared statement.