Three people were arrested by police after a large protest gathered outside Richmond Police headquarters in downtown Richmond Wednesday night.
The protest, which hundreds of people took part in, was in response to the decision by a grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky to not charge the police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death.
A flyer for the protest circulated social media on Wednesday and called for protesters to meet at Monroe Park on Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus at 8 p.m.
#richmondprotest #BreonnaTaylor #NoJusticeNoPeace #rvaprotest #monroepark pic.twitter.com/YoOcPbovZo
— aмanda okani-green (@All_In_One12) September 23, 2020
On Twitter, the Richmond Police Department (RPD) said they were aware of the flyer.
“Officers will be present to monitor the events & respond, if necessary,” RPD wrote. “We will work to keep citizens & businesses safe while supporting the public’s right to free speech.”
According to a Richmond police news release on Thursday afternoon, a hundred or so protesters assembled at Monroe Park around 9 p.m. before marching to RPD’s Third Precinct, located on South Meadow Street, and demonstrating there for half an hour.
Protestors were chanting generic anti-police slogans like no justice, no peace, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.Â
https://twitter.com/Suarez_CM/status/1308934732936224769
Afterwards, the group moved on and went to the Richmond police headquarters on West Grace Street, according to the RPD release.
A standoff between the group of protesters and RPD officers started around 10:45 p.m. and Richmond police never used tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to CBS 6.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFgQpcnH1Kd/
The arrests happened while the crowd of protestors were demonstrating outside police headquarters.
“While outside RPD Headquarters, protestors were observed spray painting the building, attempting to blind police personnel by shining lasers at them multiple times and blocking traffic,” RPD said.
The three people arrested are as follows: Noah Woodruff, Lynn Murphy and Dani Short.
Woodruff was charged with disorderly conduct for pulling an officer’s shield, Murphy was served with an outstanding warrant for obstructing free passage and Short was charged with obstruction of justice for interfering with the arrest of Murphy, according to the release.
Protests over the decision in the Taylor cause erupted in cities across the nation on Wednesday with some turning violent.
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Jacob Taylor is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Follow Jacob on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
