NORFOLK, Va. - Police Chief Larry Boone will officially retire this Friday.
On Tuesday night, city council members will vote on whether to approve providing him with $307,931 in additional retirement compensation. The money has been appropriated and can be used for this purpose, the ordinance states.
As he officially departs the city following a more than 30-year career in the city, a source within the police department tells News 3 there's continued turmoil within the department.
"The tension has gotten even worse," the source said. News 3 is not naming the source because the officer fears retaliation for speaking publicly about the department's inner-happenings.
The source said there have been ongoing tensions in the department over certain officers receiving promotions from Chief Boone, with Boone promoting diverse officers into senior positions.
There was a feeling among some officers the chief was promoting his allies, the source said. That created tension in the department that has only grown since Boone announced his retirement, the source said.
"Instead of white and Black officers working together in the past ... what we're seeing now - that communication and that closeness of working together regardless of what our issues are has dissipated," the source said.
News 3 reached out to the police department's public information office to see if they think there is tension within the department and what's being done to address it, but a reporter has not gotten a response yet.
News 3 also reached out to Mike Lynch, a police officer and the president of the Norfolk chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, to get his thoughts on morale, but did not get a response Monday.
"Morale is kind of low. Supervision - officers don't trust their supervision," he told News 3 earlier this month. "When you have officers who don't trust their own supervisors, that's an issue."
Boone worked his way up through the ranks, starting in the department in 1989 and ascending to the police chief in 2016. For his part, he has remained quietsince his departure was announced earlier this month. News 3 reached out to him on Monday, but he did not reply.
