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Why police say officer drew gun on Shockoe driver

Posted at 3:56 PM, May 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-31 16:22:03-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Police said the department was investigating a weekend incident after video surfaced of a police officer pointing a gun into a car leaving a Shockoe Bottom parking lot. The woman who recorded the video said the incident happened outside the Canal Club parking lot at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

"The officer was directing traffic out of the parking lot and stepped up to this particular car and just pulled his fire arm and had it pointed in the guy's face," the woman, who asked not to be identified, explained. "I watched the guy pull out of the parking lot. He was literally just trying to leave as he was directed."

When asked about the incident, Richmond Police offered the following statement:

A Richmond Police Department officer was working crowd and traffic control early Sunday morning in Shockoe Bottom when he observed what he believed to be a deadly threat, a weapon inside a passing vehicle.

The officer drew his service weapon and instructed the driver to better secure his weapon, which he did.

The officer then holstered his weapon. The vehicle drove away.

The incident is under review and investigation by the Department.

Shockoe Bottom is less than two miles from the scene of Friday's fatal shooting of Virginia State Trooper Michael Walter.

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