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took a field trip to a richmond city council meeting tonight... they open with prayer apparently 🙏🤷♀️ 
deputy police chief getting a real nice award from rva city council... with family & supporters of marcus david peters, who was murdered by this police department last month, in the galleJpLs
JpLsthe police chief says “the shepherd is changing, but the sheep stay the same” re: the deputy chief moving on to newport news... buddy, your officers aren’t sheep. they’re wolves.
this is absolutely surreal. a city councilwoman was sobbing about how much she loves cops. the family of a man they murdered is here.
now we’ve got some public comment! every city has their strange council regulars. this lady is... unique.
lshirleyharvey.com
lshirleyharvey.com
oh dear. she’s preaching some apocalypse. because of gay marriage?
cville better step up their game — we don’t have anybody quite like this.
cville better step up their game — we don’t have anybody quite like this.
the second speaker is princess blanding, the sister of marcus david peters, the man rva police murdered last month.
as she approached the mic, we were reminded by the meeting chair to remain silent. richmond is much better behaved than we are...
“we absolutely expect you to get it right when your officers have the power to take a person’s life.”
marcus david peters’ sister calls for better training for richmond police officers re: mental health crises & deescalation.
marcus david peters’ sister calls for better training for richmond police officers re: mental health crises & deescalation.
marcus’ family demands answers & accountability.
what does rpd know about what took place at the hotel prior to the incident?
what investigation has been done into why the hotel waited two hours to call the police? why have they not obtained footage of that time period?
what does rpd know about what took place at the hotel prior to the incident?
what investigation has been done into why the hotel waited two hours to call the police? why have they not obtained footage of that time period?
why does the body camera footage stop when the state trooper tells the officer who shot marcus to turn it off? the video does not show the officer’s hand deactivate the camera. what video was trimmed?
princess blanding emphasizes that the city must stop painting her brother as a superhuman being who withstood being struck by a vehicle & tased. (this is all too common — describing black men’s bodies as inherently dangerous and impervious to pain.)
the autopsy indicates the taser did NOT deliver its full voltage into marcus. the officer did not use all non-lethal options available to him before using his firearm.
marcus david peters’ family is calling for a better mental health crisis management model. armed officers should not be deescalating these situations.
“the only one he protected was himself” - princess blanding on who the officer who murdered her brother was ‘protecting and serving.’
these are the family’s demands
hell yes! richmond activists are calling for a police civilian review board! we’re just getting one off the ground in cville. every city needs to be able to hold its police accountable.
matters by the public was shorter and much tamer than i am accustomed to!
and they have open public comment on the consent agenda?! fascinating.
and they have open public comment on the consent agenda?! fascinating.
this ain’t my town, so i’m not fully up to date on the details here, but councilwoman reva trammel appears to be an entire fucking train wreck in a skirtsuit
i recall cville’s acting city attorney telling our council members it was against the law for them to be having private conversations with each other during public meetings. is that a local ordinance or are these rva council members just unaware?
this is my first richmond city council meeting... i thought it seemed like we were moving unusually quickly! we’re routinely still in chambers at midnight in cville.
did that councilwoman just openly scold the school board for giving raises to teachers? that seems like the kind of comment that is gonna hurt some feelings.
now this is the kind of content parks & rec promised me — a councilman is warning people to use caution when getting in the river.
oh lord. this man is unreal. he’s recommending a park in his district as an ideal place for your father’s day picnic!
are richmond’s meetings always just announcements & monologues? there’s been some public comment, but no discussion between councilors or councilors addressing the public directly.
there are a lot of benefits to a ward system. i know there are folks who would like to explore this in cville. but this meeting has me second guessing that. councilors all seem to be addressing their own districts exclusively, rather than the city as a whole.
oh reva. i don’t know any of the background of whatever she’s melting down about, but it isn’t a good look. she’s referring to herself in the third person and arguing with a newspaper article.
“i think it’s a damn shame!” reva is raising her voice at the council president. what is HAPPENING here, richmond?
the gallery is well behaved, but the councilors aren’t 😳
the councilors aren’t even pretending to pay attention. at least kathy and mike are usually TRYING to fake it. one of the councilors keeps physically leaving chambers. where’d he go? does he have someplace better to be or is he having a bathroom emergency??
there are THREE clerks seated in the center of the u-shaped dais. so who is the bored guy at the tiny desk behind the councilors?
reva, WHAT? “we can only hope that president donald trump keeps giving the funds” for the smoke alarm batteries?
the meeting is... not over. two councilors have decided they’re done for the night, though, and left without saying a word during the clerk’s reading of an agenda item. can they do that?!
three separate pairs of councilors are deeply engaged in whispered private conversations. it is my understanding that this is not allowed during public meetings, at least in charlottesville. at best, it’s profoundly disrespectful to the clerk who is speaking right now.
damn, meeting adjourned. in under two hours. what just happened?
