Virginia Beach NAACP meets with VBPD chief following Navy wife wrongful arrest, VB Sherriff meeting Tues.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Beach branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is working to learn more about a reported wrongful arrest of a Navy wife.
Jacqueline A. Smith, 33, is now represented by an attorney following a ‘nightmare’ incident in mid-February.
Smith told 10 On Your Side she was pulled over on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story late Feb. 16. Navy officials have not confirmed the circumstances of the initial traffic stop to WAVY.com.
Virginia Beach NAACP investigating wrongful arrest of Navy wife, legal opinion on the case
Court documents obtained by the WAVY-TV investigations team shows Smith was arrested by a Virginia Beach police officer and brought to Virginia Beach Correctional Center. The medical professional’s maiden name is Jacqueline Alcita Smith, yet she was booked under the wrong name, Jacqueline Renee Smith.
Her husband and dad, a military veteran, worked for two days to clear the mix up — while Smith was behind bars.
Navy wife wrongfully arrested, jailed in Virginia Beach
An internal investigation with Virginia Beach Police reports Smith was arrested for a warrant out of Baltimore with the same first and last name. A press release from VBPD said the two women have the same birth date and birth month. Police also claims the social security number and fingerprints were also the same following a search with the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC). A spokesperson with the department confirms the women are three years apart in age.
VBPD releases internal investigation into arrest of Navy wife
Smith believes Navy and Virginia Beach police blurred the two identities during the intake process. On Mar. 7 the NAACP issued a formal statement ‘denouncing the victimization of innocent citizens in Virginia Beach.’
NAACP President Dr. Eric Majette issued the following statement:
“The VB NAACP is continuing to gather information on the arrest of Mrs. Jacqueline Alcita Smith by the Federal Police, Virginia Beach Police Department and the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Department. The misidentification of Mrs. Smith as well as the inconsistencies of the reports and possible mistreatment of Mrs. Smith are of the upmost concern of the VB NAACP. It is important that all citizens are properly identified, and treated with the care and compassion due each and every human being. We look forward to updates from all three entities as they continue to look into this incident and ensure that these situations are not the common practice but that this is an isolated incident.”
The following day, on Mar. 8, the VB NAACP reported that they met with the Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate.
“I do want to thank him for being so open and responding so quickly,” Majette said. “He basically gave us the narrative of what took place that particular night with Mrs. Smith and how they went above and beyond, because she was looking to be extradited back to Baltimore. For them to make the additional effort and additional phone calls to send a picture, to contact the victim to get all the information up there. But the narratives are so different, what she’s told us and what actually happened. We are seeing where we are with this particular situation [in] this case.”
Virginia Beach NAACP investigating wrongful arrest of Navy wife, legal opinion on the case
Said Rev. Gary McCollum, Virginia Beach NAACP vice president III: “I thought it was a great meeting, first off, that he was willing to meet with us as quickly as he did. I give him credit for that. It was a very frank meeting. But at the same time, there still are some unanswered questions. There still are some inconsistencies, because, again, the comments that we heard from Mrs. Smith don’t necessarily line up with what we’ve heard. We will continue to do our investigation and, get to the bottom of what actually happened.”
Virginia Beach police report Smith will now have to resolve the matter with Baltimore County police.
“There could have been issues where this original warrant that was actually issued could have been done in error,” said McCollum, also with Due the Right Things, a grassroots organization working in partnership with the NAACP. “Now we’re talking about the possibility of getting federal authorities involved in seeing exactly what happened in Baltimore to initiate something that caused this person to be arrested that night.”
The FBI would not confirm to 10 On Your Side if there is an investigation into this incident. According to the FBI website the NCIC system requires, “agencies must enter, modify, and remove their own records. Promptness in modifying, locating, or clearing records in the system helps keep the information up-to-date and the system free of outdated information.”
VB NAACP is hopeful Virginia Beach policy and procedures will be updated to prevent future “victimization of innocent citizens.”
“As the historically Black civil rights organization, we want to ensure that there is no pattern or practices of continuous discrimination in any shape or form. I think that’s one of the things that we want to make sure that the community knows that the NAACP is working,” said Georgia Allen, Virginia Beach NAACP vice president I.
Said Bernita Richardson, Virginia Beach NAACP secretary: “We’re continuing with that investigation and the fight, because so many times people who experience these things don’t have the voice to speak up on their own. And so that is exactly where the NAACP steps in.”
WAVY-TV 10 requested an interview with the Virginia Beach Police Chief. We are waiting to hear back.
The VB NAACP will meet Tuesday with the Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb.
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