On May 29, 2020 the fallen capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia joined the global uprisings to defend Black lives. Through the next month, Richmond would see over 21 days and nights where the Richmond Police Department, along with many other surrounding departments, unleashed war weapons on Richmond residents.

Demonstrators were gassed and shot at by police for weeks on end. Our community members were snatched off of their porches by police and forced to put towels under the door to protect their homes from tear gas. The indiscriminate use of these weapons by the police has caused both major and minor physical injuries, psychological traumas, and a host of unknown long-term impacts to our residents that are still being interrogated by local public health experts.

Silencing the first amendment rights of Richmonders cost Richmond taxpayers about $1.8 million dollars for the first month of protests alone. On the October 7th episode of Race Capitol, Ben Pavior of VPM News reports that RPD spent $1.8 million dollars from the start of the uprisings (May 29) through July 3rd, 2020.

Mayor Levar Stoney, Chief Gerald Smith and the City Council are all continuing to fund the purchases of dangerous weapons that are being used for so-called “crowd control”. When the police show up with their war weapons, that is when protests against police brutality become “violent”. The presence of police increases the probability that Richmond residents leave political demonstrations with injuries or distress from the violent actions of the police. We, the people of Richmond, believe these weapons are not only a serious threat to our First Amendment rights, but also a public health and safety hazard.

Councilwoman Lynch and Councilman Jones’ proposed resolution cites an article entitled “What ‘Less Lethal’ Weapons Actually Do,” where Kelsey D. Atherton asserts that “less lethal” weapons, such as rubber bullets and tear gas, to “disperse crowds and subdue individuals” are not harmless. Richmond has seen and felt the negative impact of the increased use of these so called “non-lethal” or “less lethal” weapons by law enforcement this summer. Richmond residents have been injured by these weapons; sent into respiratory and emotional distress during a pandemic that is already threatening the physical, mental and emotional health of the public.

The City of Richmond, Richmond Police Department, Virginia State Police Department, and Capitol Police are currently being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia on behalf of Virginia Student Power Network and individual plaintiffs for their use of teargas and non-lethal weapons on demonstrators on the night of “Reclamation Square” on June 22, 2020. Along with this lawsuit, the city is involved in a number of other potentially costly litigatory fights due to the violent actions of the police during protests.

We are calling on all legislators in the Richmond City Council and the Virginia General Assembly to do everything within their power to swiftly ban the use of tear gas and non-lethal weapons upon protesters. The police are violent, we will not be silent.

Sincerely,
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