Community pushes for recall of council members behind police defunding in 'Virginia's safest city'

"You're defunding the police that protect this town!" a neighbor shouted during a full session at the Purcellville Town Hall in Loudoun County. "How can you do that... without having people talk about it?"

Elected officials in Virginia’s safest town — a title earned for its low crime rates in 2024 — had just voted 4–2 to dismantle the Purcellville Police Department (PPD).

During last week's lightly attended session, councilors who supported the measure argued that eliminating the department would allow the town to save money and reallocate funds. "This is a way of getting our infrastructure up to where we need it to be," said Councilor Susan Khalil.

"It is more important that we do that than pay double taxes for police coverage," she added, arguing that the local department duplicates the work of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Her comment was met with boos from the other attendees, cries of "We are mad," and at least one abrupt walkout from the meeting. 

The anger soon morphed into a campaign to bring the officials behind the decision to a vote. In the crosshairs: Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Vice Mayor Carl Nett, and councilmembers Susan Khalil and Carol Luke. Volunteers are collecting signatures and raising funds to support what they describe as a "time consuming and labor intensive," as outlined by state law, to remove the local city council. 

"Insulting to the citizens of Purcellville"

While the sources of discontent vary — from questionable hiring practices to the inappropriate use of chat rooms — it was the "backdoor politics" behind eliminating the local police that sparked outrage both statewide and nationally. Opponents of the decision plan to flood the public comment period at the next City Council meeting, scheduled for April 22, where they expect the issue to be addressed.

"Even if you’re okay with what they are doing, you should be concerned with how they did it," said Purcellville Deserves Better in a recent release about the elimination of the PPD. "They met in secret to discuss it, they didn’t allow public comments, they waited until [Councilman Caleb] Stought was gone for work obligations, they didn’t add it to the agenda."

The councilors who voted against the measure, along with the one who was absent, also criticized the "secrecy and a lack of transparency" surrounding the decision. "The Mayor’s assertion that our safety will not be impacted by the loss of our town-funded police department is, at best, fictional and, at worst, an outright lie," they stated, adding:

"Eliminating our police force without thoughtful consideration, without input from all of those affected, and without fully understanding the ramifications is insulting to the citizens of Purcellville."