Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo has been well known around this area for a number of years. Now he’s well-known around the country as well, due to the Hannah Graham case. Hannah was the University of Virginia student who disappeared in the fall of 2014. Her remains were found some weeks later. Suspect Jesse Matthew was arrested shortly thereafter and charged with her abduction. He is still in custody awaiting trial.
Chief Longo and I work out at the same gym. I saw him in the locker room a couple of weeks ago and said to him, “I have a compliment for you, Chief”. I reminded him that I am a leadership consultant, and said that I appreciated the passion that he displayed in his various news conferences as he lead his department and the community through a very difficult and trying experience (which is not over yet). I said that no doubt the searchers, who were volunteers and law enforcement officers from all over the country, were likely further motivated by his passion and emotion to continue searching under very difficult, hot, and humid conditions. Ultimately, they did find Hannah’s remains, and Chief Longo’s department had the grim task of notifying the family.
Chief Longo thanked me, and said that some of the searchers wanted to know when they would stop searching. The Chief said he replied that they would stop only when Hannah’s body was found. He said that if he were her father, he would expect nothing less.
I was surprised when later he was criticized by some for displaying his passion and emotion in the Hannah Graham case. I think he teaches all of us leaders an important and valuable lesson in the power that our passion can have. It shows others that we are deeply committed to accomplishing our mission, whatever it may be, and is great leadership by example.
This video, from WTVR 6 in Richmond, VA deals with that topic, including Chief Longo’s reaction to the criticism, and summarizes the case:
UPDATE: Jesse Matthew was charged Monday, 2/9/15, by the Commonwealth Attorney’s with first degree murder in the Hannah Graham case.
UPDATE: On the opening day of his trial, Jesse Matthew was charged Tuesday, 5/5/15, with capital murder, making him eligible for the death penalty.
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