CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The University of Virginia has released the redacted external review reports of the 2022 shooting that took the lives of three students and seriously injured two others.
Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were killed, and Michael Hollins, Jr. and Marlee Morgan were injured.
The University’s Board of Visitors and President asked the Attorney General of Virginia to “appoint outside special counsel with expertise in these matters to conduct an independent review of the UVA’s response to the shooting, as well as efforts the university undertook in the period before the shooting to assess the potential threat” posed to the community.
Full report documents can be viewed here:
On December 9, 2022, the Attorney General appointed two law firms to undertake the external review. These were Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP (Quinn Emanuel) and Vinson & Elkins, LLP (Vinson & Elkins.)
Quinn Emanuel was appointed specifically “for the purpose of reviewing the events that led to the November 13 shooting of five university students.
Vinson & Elkins was appointed “to investigate and review the actions of law enforcement and prosecutors prior to the shooting… as well as the immediate emergency response to the shooting by law enforcement.”
UVA says the redactions made to the released report are a result of student privacy. The university is prohibited by federal law from releasing information directly related, linked, or linkable, to identifiable current or former university students.
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In response to the recommendations made by Quinn Emanuel report, the University of Virgina has already put the following changes into place.
- University Police Department assigned a full-time threat assessment liaison officer, adding to the previous law enforcement representation on the Threat Assessment Team
- The University hired two licensed clinical psychologists who currently serve as the Associate Director and Assistant Director within the Office of Threat Assessment.
- The University hired two full-time Response Specialists – one is a clinical social worker and the other has a significant law enforcement background.
- To complement the personnel additions, the University’s Threat Assessment Team enhanced its communications and outreach to members of the University community by updating the website with information and FAQs; requiring on-line active attacker training for students and making it available to faculty and staff; increasing in-person training opportunities for units and departments; and hosting Threat Assessment training for more than 100 University and community partners.
- The Threat Assessment Team modified its standard operating procedures to prioritize weapons-related concerns. University Police will immediately investigate if a firearm is reported to be on Grounds or in the possession of someone who lives on Grounds and provide updates to Office of Threat Assessment to initiate an expedited Threat Assessment Team meeting. The revised procedures also describe the required reporting for cases involving articulable and significant threats to law enforcement and commonwealth’s attorney within 24 hours of the determination.
- These additional resources and process changes have greatly improved the investigative and assessment capabilities of the Threat Assessment Team
- The University realigned certain functions within the Student Affairs Division to better define the role of the student Care and Support Services (CASS) team and repositioned the team within Student Health and Wellness to reaffirm the CASS mission as one of care and support for students.
- CASS has increased its capacity by adding three Case Managers, two Assistant Deans, and a Program Coordinator.
- CASS streamlined practices and protocols to enhance its administrative functions. Also actively engaged in outreach efforts to increase awareness and use of CASS resources for students, University partners, and other stakeholders.
- At the same time, the Student Affairs Division created and staffed the new Policy, Accountability & Critical Events (PACE) unit to support the University’s processes and procedures associated with student conduct accountability including interim suspensions, Contributory Health Impairments (CHI), disciplinary clearances, arrest disclosures, hazing investigations, and Title IX appeals.
– PACE provides advising and support for the University’s Judiciary and Honor committees who investigate and adjudicate allegations of student misconduct.
– PACE manages policy and compliance work for the Student Affairs Division as well as planning and response for critical incidents.
- Provided training for non-law enforcement University stakeholders of existing policies for entering on-Grounds student housing to conduct inspections for health and safety-related concerns, especially when a weapon may be involved.
- Increased the emphasis on University websites concerning firearms and other weapons classified as prohibited by University policy for on-Grounds housing.
In conjunction with the changes to the Threat Assessment Team’s Operating Procedures discussed above concerning prioritization of weapons-related concerns, these changes promote a rapid engagement with individuals who are suspected of possessing a weapon in on-Grounds housing or in other University facilities, resulting in a consensual or administrative search when appropriate.
- The University implemented an array of technological improvements to SafeGrounds, its case management system, including, the creation of new case types, functionality, and the expansion of users.
The improvements have made SafeGrounds easier to use, expanded the scope of users and available data, and enhanced its capability of producing data and metrics with greater accessibility and transparency.
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The Vinson & Elkins report focuses more narrowly on the emergency response following the shootings, particularly the law enforcement response.
This report contains an executive summary and a discussion of the methodology undertaken during the review process.
The first portion of the report contains background information concerning the assailant, largely redacted as required, and recommendations for law enforcement agencies relating to those background activities. The next portion of the report focuses on the University’s emergency response to the shooting, including the activation of the University’s Critical Incident Management Team.
Vinson & Elkins report includes “practical improvements to increase the effectiveness of the University’s law enforcement and emergency response in the event of another critical incident.” The report concludes with recommendations focused on improving the University’s emergency response, as follows:
- The University should establish a permanent Emergency Operations Center that can activate immediately in response to no-notice events and include key infrastructure that will enable effective operation in emergency conditions
- The University should empower University Police Division Services personnel to issue UVA Alerts immediately upon learning of an active threat on Grounds and train personnel to issue such alerts without delay
- The University Police Division should review its policies and practices to ensure that it shares critical information in real-time or near-real-time with the University’s Incident Assessment Group during emergency events
- The University should develop and train with regional law enforcement agencies regarding specific response protocols for active threat emergencies
- University Police Officers should receive additional training regarding on-scene command post set-up
- The University Police Division should review its policies and training practices to ensure that officers record the identities of subjects encountered during a critical incident
- The University Police Division should develop and implement policies and training ensuring that officers, including partners from regional law enforcement agencies, announce their presence before entering buildings during critical incidents where safe and feasible to do so.
UVA says in response to these recommendations, the University’s Board of Visitors has approved a dedicated facility for public safety purposes, including the establishment of a permanent Emergency Operations Center, allowing the University to activate the EOC without delay in response to no-notice emergency events.
The University Police Division also will continue to develop and strengthen coordination and training opportunities with its regional law enforcement partners.
Additional public safety enhancements addressing communications, training, facilities and coordination with local and regional partners are described in the accompanying list of ongoing and completed University action items.
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