VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach's proposed Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year 2021-22 says that 19 surveillance cameras cover less than 50 percent of the Oceanfront. One of the areas not covered is where a police officer shot and killed Donovon Lynch last Friday.
Police Chief Paul Neudigate said a lack of footage is affecting his department's work.
"As much as we want to be transparent to our community, and they deserve it, it's hard to be transparent when we have very little information to guide our investigation," Neudigate told City Council on Tuesday night.
The city allocated $300,000 in the plan for replacing and improving the current surveillance.
"Could we always use more cameras? I would never turn down cameras. They are great reactive tools for investigations," said Neudigate. In addition to the $300,000, the city is looking into costs for covering 100 percent of the Oceanfront.
Although there may not be a city-owned camera in the area, Neudigate said officers are canvassing businesses looking for footage.
"At this point, we have no video from a city camera," he told city council.
We spoke with the manager at the Sundial Inn at 21st Street and Pacific. Police came by and looked at footage from the Inn's cameras. The manager said while they reach the corner of 19th and Pacific, they often don’t pick up footage at night.
"My gut tells me that while there are a lot of cameras down there, even if we captured video there's probably very little on that due to lack of lighting," Neudigate said.
Over the last few years, the city has spent nearly $3.5 million on cameras.