Man wrongfully detained by maskless officers at Lynnhaven Mall has COVID

A Virginia Beach man who was wrongfully detained by maskless Virginia Beach police officers at Lynnhaven Mall earlier this month is battling COVID-19, according to his attorney.

Jamar Mackey was tested for the virus three days after the incident and learned on Christmas Eve that his results were positive, said Portsmouth attorney Don Scott.

So far, the 32-year-old has been experiencing mild symptoms, such as a low-grade fever and cough, and is resting at home, Scott said. No one else in his family is ill, the attorney said.

Scott said Mackey doesn’t know how he contracted the disease, but suspects it’s a result of the Dec. 19 incident in the mall’s food court.

“He was healthy before this, and he and his family have been very careful,” Scott said. “His mask was down at the time because he was eating. The officers never gave him a chance to pull it back up and they weren’t wearing masks.”

Scott said he doesn’t know if the officers seen in the video were tested for coronavirus afterwards. Police spokeswoman Linda Kuehn said privacy laws prevent them from releasing an employee’s confidential medical information.

Mackey, who is Black, was having lunch with his fiancee and the couple’s two sons when a white officer came up behind him, handcuffed him and led him out of the mall. One son is 13 and the other is an infant, Scott said.

A viral video of the incident posted on Facebook by Mackey’s fiancee shows Mackey with a mask pulled down to his chin and a tray of food in front of him when an officer crouches behind him and and places handcuffs on him. The officer is not wearing a mask and has his face close to Mackey’s as he talks to him.

The officer told Mackey he matched a description of a man suspected of using stolen credit cards in the mall. He later released Mackey after realizing he wasn’t involved and apologized.

Virginia Beach police chief Paul Neudigate held a news conference after the incident and also apologized for the wrongful detainment. He said the officers involved violated department policy by not wearing a mask and that the incident is being investigated to determine if other rules or regulations were violated.

Kuehn said Thursday the investigation is still ongoing.