Threat to smack officer’s mouth leads to RPD demotion

The demotion of a Richmond Police Department officer resulted from a 26-second incident during which he threatened to smack another officer in the mouth.

During an April 3 special meeting, RPD’s Merit Commission, which had conducted a March 24 hearing, rejected the administration’s request to fire Jeremy Worch, an 11-year RPD officer. Instead, Worch, who had been on administrative leave, was demoted from investigator to patrolman, and the commission recommended Worch receive mental health support focusing on anger management.

WWN filed a public records request with the city of Richmond for documents associated with the Dec. 2 incident near a copier/printer in the main hallway of RPD’s ground floor station in the Richmond Municipal Building. The city provided 12 documents and a video associated with the incident, RPD’s internal affairs investigation, the recommendation to terminate and the Merit Commission decision.

According to the documents, Worch was upset about Officer Jordan Tudor speaking to other officers about him not having proper safety equipment and making disparaging comments during Nov. 18 force-on-force training scenarios at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. Worch went through two scenarios without the proper safety weapon and protective facemask and was heard complaining about wasting time at the training, which had started late. His supervisors then discussed those issues with him after administrators learned about the situation.

Worch said during the investigation that he was frustrated with the late training start. “I had a lot of work to do and I was standing around for an hour,” he was quoted as saying in the documents. “I don’t like standing around. I’ve got work to do.” 

On Dec. 2, Tudor was at the copier/printer when Worch came down the hallway, stopped close to Tudor and pointed at him. In separate interviews during Capt. James Doll’s internal investigation, Worch and Tudor both said Worch told Tudor to stop talking behind his back to other officers and to speak with him face-to-face if there was a problem. Worch said if Worch’s name came out of Tudor’s mouth again, Worch would smack Tudor in the mouth. 

“I wasn’t trying to make a spectacle out of it. I was letting him know how I felt,” said Worch during his interview, indicating he was tired of being talked about and made to look bad to other officers.

Doll’s investigation sustained a complaint against Worch of threatening violence, but not one of retaliation. It was determined that Worch did not know at the time that Tudor had lodged the complaint with administration about Worch’s training behavior.

In its recommendation to terminate Worch, RPD’s administration considered a 2016 two-day suspension Worch received for twice striking the head of a handcuffed suspect and the city human resources department’s determination that had Worch not been a police union member the action against Tudor would have resulted in termination.

The letter to the Merit Commission recommending Worch’s firing was signed by Major Adam Blanton. It said that workplace violence “undermines the core principles of safety and respect” and that employers are obligated to protect staff and reduce exposure to liability. A decision not to terminate Worch “undermines trust in leadership and erodes the organization’s commitment to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all employees,” the letter said. “Termination, in this case, affirms the organization’s dedication to upholding these values.” 

Worch filed a letter appealing the administration’s decision and triggering the Merit Commission’s review. In the letter, Worch wrote that “I completely disagree with this disciplinary action.”

Updated April 21, 2025 at 2:21 p.m. to correct a typo in the description of the sequence of events at the copier/printer.