Prince William County residents are set to protest Tuesday afternoon over the county’s decision to hire Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham.
Locals are planning to meet outside the James J. McCoart Administration Building at 2 p.m. to call on the Board of County Supervisors to terminate the chief’s hiring agreement.
The board voted to hire Chief Newsham last month following a nationwide recruiting process, according to a press release. He is set to take over Feb. 1 for recently retired Chief Barry Barnard.
An online petition contesting the chief’s appointment is circulating and has received more than 2,300 of the 2,500 signatures sought as of Tuesday morning.
A resident named Nancy Lyall launched the protest and petition, which states that hiring Chief Newsham “was a significant step backward in the community’s relationship” with the board.
“The process used to hire this chief was not transparent and was severely lacking in community input,” the petition states. “His termination and a reset in the hiring process with significant community input is the only way to repair this situation.”
The petition says Chief Newsham has “poor leadership” and his policing tactics are “not what we want” in the county.
At a press conference Monday, Chief Newsham responded to a question about the criticism.
“Really, what you have to do when folks are critical — is you have to really listen. Some of that criticism is valid and you have to change accordingly,” he said. “So if there are folks out there who are critical of me, either here in the District or in Prince William County, they can rest assured that I will listen to that criticism. If that criticism is valid, I will adjust accordingly.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed Chief Newsham in 2017 to replace former chief Cathy Lanier. She said Monday that he has “served with distinction” and she is “very sad” to see him move on.
“I think having a person who has been committed to law enforcement for 31 years, and has served a major city for that entire career, certainly is a bonus to any department who is looking for a new police chief.”
The mayor said she will “come out with an announcement soon” about finding a replacement.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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