Sheriff’s race pits familiar challengers, who are sparring over jail deaths and the office’s role

Rematches are a theme during this year’s primary elections in Richmond.

Similar to the candidates battling for the Richmond commonwealth’s attorney race, former Richmond Police Sgt. William Burnett is going head-to-head against current Sheriff Antionette Irving for the second time in a Democratic primary on June 17. 

Both ran for the position in 2021, when incumbent Irving won 55% of the vote to Burnett’s 45%. In heavily-Democratic Richmond city, winning the general election is all but a foregone conclusion for the primary winner.

Burnett, who worked for 32 years in both the Richmond Police Department and sheriff’s office, wants to redefine the sheriff's role by actively reducing crime in the city. To do that, he plans to introduce new programs and strengthen the sheriff’s and police departments' relationship. He said the relationship between the two departments is currently one of the worst, and his experience of previously working in both offices makes him qualified for the role. 

“I know the needs of both agencies,” he told The Richmonder in an interview.  

The winner will be in charge of managing the city jail, transporting inmates, serving legal documents and engaging in public outreach. 

Irving said she first wants voters to know the sheriff’s responsibilities, and plans to highlight the progress she’s made in those duties. She showcased the various programming available under the department, including services for seniors, educational services for inmates, and community work like monthly food distribution. 

“We want to continue to grow our agency and continue to grow the individuals that are here because we want to reduce the recidivism rate,” she said in an interview. 

Irving has run for the position four times, this year being her fifth. The 60-year-old, Creighton Court-born officer worked at the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office for more than 26 years. She ran against former Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. and lost twice before winning the third time. 

“I love what I do,” she said. I enjoy doing it.”

As of June 6, Irving reported raising $20,700 during the most recent cycle. Burnett’s finance report for the period has not been posted, but he reported raising $29,200 as of April 16.

Irving said she has received support from Del. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, and state Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond, who donated $5,000 to her campaign. She also said local city council members and religious leaders support her. 

Burnett said he has the backing of City Councilmember Reva Trammell (8th District) and the Richmond Coalition for Police. As of April 16, he had given nearly $8,000 to his own campaign.

Burnett, 57, started his career as an RPD officer working at the first precinct in 1993, “when crime was probably at its worst,” he said. He spent 20 years with the police department moving up the ranks until joining the sheriff’s department, working under Woody as a lieutenant colonel.  

“I stayed there until Sheriff Irving won,” he said. 

Burnett has frequently attacked Irving’s ability to oversee the department, saying that the office is riddled with staffing issues, state investigations, and inmate deaths caused by drug overdoses, including the jail’s most recent death earlier this month, under her watch. 

“Based on what I’m hearing, Sheriff Irving is her own problem,” he said. “She’s her biggest enemy.”

Irving said while staffing has been difficult, all departments in the area and across the country are experiencing staffing shortages. She also said that jail deaths are down compared to past sheriffs. Despite all of this, she said the department continues to grow, including in programming for inmates. 

“As the Sheriff of the city of Richmond, we’ve come a long way since 2018,” she told attendees at a recent debate held by the Richmond City Democratic Committee. “We continuously work on programs for our individuals that are residing inside of our facility to ensure that … they’re moving forward.” 

Deaths in City Jail

According to The Times-Dispatch, the Richmond jail has witnessed a total of nine deaths since Irving took office. The jail is currently on a compliance plan with the state as a result of a sequence of jail deaths from 2022 to 2023. One of the deaths was Steven Carey, who died from a fentanyl overdose in January 2023. VPM News reported this year that Irving settled with Carey's family. The details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Irving acknowledged the deaths both in her interview with The Richmonder and at the debate. But she emphasized that her predecessor has also experienced inmate deaths, at higher rates than her jail. She said that the previous administration under Woody had 17 deaths in his last term from 2013 to 2017, three of which died within a span of two days. In his term before that from 2009 to 2013, Irving said his administration had 15 deaths. 

“No death is anything that we would like to see anywhere,” she said. 

She also said that many inmates come in with medical conditions, alcoholism and drug addictions. She works to provide them with the attention they need through programs. One of those programs is an opioid addiction treatment program the city launched in the jail. Officers and contractors who come through the jail also go through body scanners and pat downs to ensure drugs aren’t entering the facility, she said. 

Burnett believes this isn’t enough. The public doesn’t have contact with inmates, so the only way for inmates to access drugs and die by overdoses is through jail staff bringing drugs in. 

“If she don’t think outside of the box when time and time again people are dying … as a leader, you shouldn’t be in that role,” he said. 

Burnett said if he was elected, K-9 detection dogs would screen visitors and inmates for drugs.  Inmates and staff would be subjected to random drug tests and have access to a tip line to report suspicious activity in the jail. 

“We’ve got to stop people from dying in there,” he said. “The drugs are free and accessible to inmates like you would get on the street corner,” he said.

Programs and community engagement

Burnett discussed the potential creation of the department’s first cadet program centered on kids. He said this program would follow youth from an early age through high school while providing mentorship and programming through organizations like Boy Scouts. The goal would be to reduce their chances of getting arrested in the future, he said. 

He said he would also create a department athletic league for Richmond’s youth, something the Richmond Police used to do. 

Irving offered a lengthy list of different programs already taking place inside and out of the department. Inside, they include educational programs for inmates interested in receiving their fork-lifting, cosmetology, barbering or commercial driver’s license, as well as therapy classes for those struggling with addiction. Outside, it’s distributing food to neighbors once a month and checking in on Richmond’s senior residents through the department’s Are You Okay program. 

“My goal is to work with individuals, so that they can come back into society and be a productive part of our community,” she said. 

She said under her watch, the department has obtained $8 million in grant funding to provide services to inmates. The department also works with close to 200 partners who help provide the services, and she said she’s working on building relationships with small businesses in the city to further help inmates. 

When asked her thoughts on Burnett’s program ideas, Irving wished him luck. She said the department already has programs interacting with the youth and community. 

In the debate, she said the programs she has “are already working.” 

Burnett retorted that night, asking how they’re working if people are dying in the jail.

Staffing issues

Burnett pointed out staffing issues at the department. He said the lack of staff has resulted in low morale for those that remain. The department was down 150 deputies out of 385 total positions, WTVR reported earlier this year. Burnett said the real number is more than 300. 

“I don’t even know how they function,” Burnett told The Richmonder. 

Irving chuckled at Burnett’s number when told about it. She recognized the staffing shortage, but pointed to the George Floyd protests that occurred in 2020, leading law enforcement agencies all over the country to experience setbacks when hiring officers. 

“It’s been difficult for all agencies,” she said. “Any law enforcement agency you speak with will have a number of vacancies.” 

Irving said salaries for entry-level positions nearly doubled since she started leading the department, an attempt to keep deputies and not lose them to other agencies. In a public safety committee meeting with City Council, Irving said the position for an entry-level deputy sheriff was $47,500. Today it is $57,000 after spending a year on the job. 

“We just had a class graduate, and we’ll have a new group to come in the next 30 days,” she said. 

Burnett feels confident that officers from the police department will join him at the sheriff’s department if elected, because of the connections he has built while working at RPD. 

His solution to addressing the staffing shortages also partially comes from his cadet programming idea. He said he hopes he could recruit officers after they graduate from high school. 

Addressing Crime

The candidates have different views on addressing crime and policing in the city. Irving emphasized that the sheriff’s department's main role is not to catch criminals.

“Our primary role is the care, custody and safekeep of the individuals that are incarcerated,” Irving said.

She said the department and RPD have an agreement to let “the police do the policing and the sheriff do sheriff work.” 

Rather than focusing on policing, Irving said she’s more concerned about building good rapport with the inmates and individuals within the community. 

Unlike Irving, Burnett wants to directly enforce law, specifically by helping RPD with his “quality of life” unit he said he would create in the department. This unit would be in charge of handling traffic violations such as speeding, reckless driving, and aggressive panhandling. 

Burnett said there is “animosity” between RPD and the sheriff’s department. He said he would serve as the bridge between the two departments because of his experience of working at both. 

Burnett said the sheriff’s department needs a transformation. Under Irving, he argues that it won’t happen.

“I have nothing personal against her,” he said. “But I think that it's time for a change in the city of Richmond, and it's up to the citizens if they want to go down this path again.”

Early voting is underway, with full voting at precincts taking place on Tuesday, June 17.

Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that 17 and 15 deaths of inmates occurred under two terms of former Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr., as well as the spelling of city councilor Reva Trammell’s name.

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org