HELPING HAND
A Virginia Beach therapist is helping her clients cope through these uncertain times.
VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia Beach police on Friday provided more details on the dozens of arrests made during two protests earlier in the week in the city, as some demonstrators called for an investigation into tactics used by the department.
On the first night of protests — last Sunday at the Oceanfront in response to the death of George Floyd — 28 charges were filed by Virginia Beach officers, according to the information.
The following night at the city’s Town Center, the great majority of the charges — 26 — were for violating an 8 p.m. curfew that was issued by the governor a couple of hours before it went into effect. Two other demonstrations later in the week had much smaller crowds and didn’t involve any arrests.
At the Oceanfront event, three of the charges were for felonies, 24 for misdemeanors and one was for a traffic violation. The felonies listed included assaulting a law enforcement officer, breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony, and a subsequent offense of carrying a concealed weapon.
Nine of the misdemeanor charges allege being part of an unlawful assembly. Police declared the event unlawful and in violation of the governor’s order limiting crowd sizes at about 10:30 p.m., after vandals began breaking windows of nearby businesses.
The rest of the misdemeanor charges were for things like obstructing justice, resisting arrest, public intoxication, trespassing and having animals on the beach.
Only three were for propertyrelated crimes, but a police spokeswoman said Friday that officers are continuing to investigate multiple property destruction cases. City officials estimated that the Oceanfront businesses suffered more than $300,000 in damage.
Tyler Woodard, a 26-year-old Virginia Beach man who participated in the Oceanfront protest, said Friday that he sent a letter to City Council and other local leaders calling for an investigation into the tactics used by police that night. The letter had garnered about 500 signatures by Saturday, he said.
Woodard asked officials to look into a moment around 10 p.m. when he said multiple police SUVs began to push through the crowd.
“At no time was there a reason to push a car through a crowd of people,” Woodard said. “It was completely unnecessary and just made the situation worse.”
Demonstrators also are calling for the arrest of a man in a red pickup that they say accelerated his vehicle toward a crowd of people. More than 8,000 people have signed an online petition asking that he be charged.
Interim Police Chief Tony Zucaro called the driver’s behavior “troubling” during a media briefing on Monday. Police spokeswoman Linda Kuehn said officers have identified the man and are asking for anyone with information about the incident to contact the detective bureau at 757-385-4101.
Only three were for property-related crimes, but a police spokeswoman said Friday that officers are continuing to investigate multiple property destruction cases. City officials estimated that the Oceanfront businesses suffered more than $300,000 in damage.