RICHMOND, Va -- Newly-released video showing Richmond Police Officers deploying tear gas into a peaceful crowd of protesters gathered at the former Robert E. Lee Monument is now available for the public to view. As part of a federal lawsuit settlement between multiple demonstrators and the City of Richmond, police records from the day of the incident on June 1, 2020, were released through the Library of Virginia more than two years later.
Body camera footage revealed officers saying "gas them" and chanting "gas, gas, gas" just before unleashing the chemicals, which sent hundreds of people running away in fear while coughing and sneezing. Officers were heard cursing at demonstrators and seen spraying them with mace even after the gas was deployed.
While in a police cruiser heading toward the statue, some officers were heard cheering when they received approval to gas the crowd, with expressions including "Woo" and "Oh yeah, it's going down."
After the incident, footage showed officers questioning the commands they were given and asking if the crowd was given a warning before the gas was used.
Another officer responded, "who cares?"
At the time, Richmond Police tweeted they had to use gas because violent protesters were putting officers' safety at risk.
On July 1, 2022, and as part of the settlement, police admitted the tweet was false and recognized demonstrators were peaceful.
Richmond Police said multiple protests were happening at multiple monuments the day of the incident, and there was confusion about which demonstrations were peaceful and which ones were not.
Megan Rickman Blackwood was one of several protesters who sued the city for violating their rights. She said the tear gassing made many Richmonders feel as if they cannot safely publicly protest since that day.
“I think there's an underlying current of fear to what happened here. Yes, I came back out, but it chilled the First Amendment for so many people," Blackwood said. “It’s haunting and will be forever.”
While she believed the release of body camera footage was a step toward transparency, it was hard for her to look back on it.
“It’s absolutely retraumatizing. It's triggering. You feel all the anxiety, all the stress again. Pulling up here [Lee Circle] today, I had a knot in my stomach.”
Blackwood said protesters felt they never received the apology they deserved from Richmond Police.
"I still don't feel that way. Even with the Twitter redaction, I do not think that there has been a true reckoning, and I don't think there will be until they take this fence down and allow the people that were traumatized in the space, the people that were wronged in this space, to decide what happens next with this space," she said.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who met and marched with protesters the day following the tear gas incident, has previously rebuked police for what happened. He told CBS 6 he was satisfied a deal was reached between the city and protesters that would provide transparency. However, inquiries to his office about whether he has reviewed the body camera footage and had a response have not yet been answered.
CBS 6 also asked Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith, who was brought on by Mayor Stoney after the Lee Statue incident, for comment on the new developments during a press conference Monday.
“I don’t have any comment on it right now, but if you had a specific question, we’d be more than happy to entertain what that would be," Chief Smith said.
CBS 6 followed up with a Richmond Police spokesperson about how Chief Smith would prevent future mistakes under his leadership and what steps Richmond Police has taken to build trust with the community. The spokesperson said she would check in with Smith for answers.
CBS 6 also asked Chief Smith on July 6 how he would review communication protocols to ensure information released by Richmond Police is accurate. Smith did not answer at the time, but a spokesperson later said:
"In an effort to ensure accuracy, RPD has a protocol for disseminating information that utilizes internal reviews and approvals based on the subject matter and affected Units."
Other records are also accessible through the Library of Virginia including dispatch recordings and officer narratives. Protesters who were present at the Lee Circle on June 1, 2020, can also provide their own accounts of what happened to be added to the repository.
Blackwood said part of the lawsuit settlement that did not come to fruition was the city allowing protesters to have decision-making sway in the efforts to transform Monument Avenue.
"One of the major things that I was hoping to accomplish with this lawsuit was to make sure that the city was guaranteed to include people that were affected by this incident, people that were here protesting, as a part of the reimagination process. That has not come to fruition. We are not seeing any engagement. We're not seeing any anyone being brought to the table that was impacted by that event. You still see on a regular basis, people from this community posting about what an eyesore it [Lee Circle' is and how tired they are looking at it," Blackwood said.
You can look through the protest collection here.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
