Incidents

See video.

See video.

Richmond Police attempt to drag a reporter out of her vehicle.

Richmond Police officers attack a crowd of everyday citizens protesting the police killing of George Floyd with chemical weapons and physical violence. Two years later, a federal court ordered the Richmond Police Department to correct the record with an admission that it had lied about the circumstances of the attack (it did so with a tweet). While multiple lawsuits, complaints, and inquiries emerged from the terror of that day, no officer was fired as a result of their conduct on June 1, 2020.

In the summer of 2020, Layton, along with Officers Nicholas Caesar and Cleophas Williams, was named in an Internal Affairs complaint (I.A.D. 2020-0038) alleging abuse of chemical weapons and the use of excessive force on two individuals, one a journalist, during a police attack on a protest in early June.

Eric C. Coleman, a mentally disabled man, was mistakenly arrested and kept in jail for 10 days.

William McAuliffe and Jennifer Barlow were sued for using excessive force "in a fit of sudden and unprovoked rage" upon Elder Chacon, Brenda Samayoa, and their 12-year-old daughter, after a crash in the city on Aug. 7, 2019. Officer Douglas Peppel was also involved in the incident according to court records for Chacon, although he is not named in the court complaint.

According to the complaint: "'In a fit of sudden and unprovoked rage, Officer McAuliffe threw his clipboard on the ground and violently grabbed at Chacon’s person..' McAuliffe then allegedly pushed Samayoa out of the way, striking her in the face and pushing her into [daughter] Nathaly, who was standing next to her, as Samayoa fell to the ground...

"Officer McAuliffe continued attacking him and that instead of deescalating the situation, Officer Barlow used her taser on Chacon... At the time that Officer McAuliffe and Officer Barlow assaulted Mr. Chacon, he was not engaged in any activity suggesting that he posed a threat to officer safety or to any other person.”

David Torrence and Thomas Davis kill Anthony M. Edwards.

"According to the suit, Officer Frazer 'placed Thelma N. Brown in fear and concern for her life' based on his aggressive behavior and demeanor and Ms. Brown’s awareness of news reports concerning police shootings of unarmed African-Americans... Her concern mounted, the suit states, when she noticed that Officer Frazer’s summons book displayed political stickers supportive of two people she considers hostile to African Americans, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence."

Gregory Helfrecht (Narcotics) was conducting a traffic stop in Henrico County. An unnamed man exited the car and ran away from him.

Helfrecht chased him. caught up to him, and then shot him after an "altercation." The man's name was never released by police.

Officer Michael Nyantakyi shot and killed Marcus-David Peters while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. The encounter was less than two minutes long before he was killed. Peters was a high school biology teacher. He was unarmed.

Officers Glenn Gohlke & Dustin Holmes said they saw a group of kids on Lambeth Rd, and believed the group contained a known man with outstanding warrants. When officers approached, the group ran away. Police claim a child in the group brandished what they believed to be a weapon. Both officers fired their guns and shot the child. The child was badly injured and taken to the hospital by ambulance. He survived. His name was not released.

Off-duty, current employee Officer Robert Misegades kills 15-year-old Jacob L. Baumgart while meeting up to sell video game system.

Ben Frazer assaulted Jazzman Levert Daniel after forcing his way into his home; Officers Jacob Deboard and Joseph Ronan assisted, breaking Daniel's ribs. Officers claimed qualified immunity.

A mother signed her autistic son up for an after-school tennis program with the Richmond Police Athletic League to give her son experience interacting with police. She returned to find him handcuffed, then learned he had been assaulted. At the hospital, they learned an officer had given him a concussion. The story was reported on WTVR News.

Tamar was 20 years old when someone called the police and got him shot. We don't know exactly what happened, but here's what police said.

According to the police narrative, the Richmond Police received a call that someone was experiencing what is categorized as a mental health crisis.

Operating on this knowledge, the kid, if actively within the onset of a psychiatric episode, could be assumed to have been vulnerable and incapacitated by his current suffering, as episodes can be genuinely agonizing for those experiencing them. If they do not cause the person experiencing them pain in that moment, they do render that person impaired.

Tamar was probably experiencing something deeply traumatic, terrifying, and personal. He was not in a good place, but he was at his house.

Then the Richmond Police showed up at his door wearing badges and guns, demanding to see him, saying they'd gotten a call. Tamar must have been terrified, but we don't know, because the two police officers forced their way inside his home and when Tamar feared for his life, it was said that he shot his gun.

Adult police officers entered his home with the presumed knowledge that he was vulnerable and experiencing an acute event. The police officers knew they were not there to investigate a crime, and they were free.to leave. They did not bring care, compassion, and peace to his neighborhood that night. They escalated it and they shot the person who needed "their" help. They did not fear for the kid's safety.

Instead, they shot him. They said they got scared.

A barrage of negative news stories slandering Tamar and lauding the bravery of William Turner, the Richmond Police officer who shot Tamar and also got shot, ensued for months, then recycled for years as if Officer William Turner had done a heroic deed. A vigil was even held for Officer Turner's injury.

"The suspect was also shot," the Richmond Police wrote. We don't know anything more than that nor what the episode actually looked like.

Officer William Turner received commendations and 20-year-old Tamar Xavier Harris, who had no previous criminal record that is public, received four felony charges. Two of these were filed with the lower court and were not prosecuted.

A grand jury convened without Tamar present, as the law does not allow for the accused to appear, an attorney for the accused to appear, or evidence to be brought before the grand jury that might contradict that which the prosecutor brings before the grand jury. The grand jury then decides if Tamar should be prosecuted for the charges brought by the prosecutor, and he was. Tamar Harris was sentenced to 35 years in prison with 12 suspended. Upon release, he will be on "Indefinite Supervision" for the rest of his life.

Tamar is in Sussex State Prison. His inmate number is 1694392 (https://www.jpay.com/FirstTime.aspx?Search=1694392&State=VA).

Officer Randy Hager grabbed and harassed Charles Lamaar Sharp, who sued to appeal a case Hager initiated against him.