>>9425542

‘There was a child inside!’ Rioters torched house & blocked firefighters, Richmond police chief says, promising arrests

https://www.rt.com/usa/490349-richmond-protesters-arson-child/

The head of police in Richmond, Virginia choked up describing how rioters set a building on fire and wouldn’t let a fire truck get to the scene, requiring officers to forcefully intervene to save a child trapped inside.

Peaceful protests in Richmond escalated into violence on Saturday, with a radical mob setting ablaze a police cruiser, a bus and several buildings, including the United Daughters of the Confederacy headquarters. One of their targets was a building in Broad Street, in which there was a child, Richmond Police Chief Will Smith told journalists on Sunday.

“They prohibited us from getting on scene. We had to force our way to make a clear path for the fire department,” he said.

Protesters intercepted that fire apparatus several blocks away with vehicles and blocked [the] fire department’s access [to the burning building]. Inside that building was a child!

At this point, Smith seemed overwhelmed with emotion and had to pause before he could continue. “When you take a legitimate issue and hijack it for unknown reasons, that is unacceptable to me, to [the police department], to the city of Richmond,” he said. “It truly is not Richmond. It’s not even Virginia. It’s not even the mid-Atlantic!”

The police chief blamed the violence in the city on organized outsiders, who “had traveled many states to be here,” saying charges against instigators may be filed soon.

Richmond is among dozens of cities across the US rocked by rioting amid nationwide protests against police brutality. The wave of public outrage was unleashed by the choking to death of black man George Floyd. He was killed while in the custody of the Minneapolis police, after a white officer kneeled on his neck and ignored his pleas to let him breathe.

>>9425542

Policeone article with mayor's comment:

Va. police chief: Rioters blocked firefighters from burning home with child inside

https://www.policeone.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/va-police-chief-rioters-blocked-firefighters-from-burning-home-with-child-inside-OBxLwtKVzfgrFQmp/

RICHMOND, Va. — Rioters blocked a fire truck from responding to a burning home early Sunday morning in Richmond, according to Richmond Police Chief Will Smith.

We have people from across the country who have traveled many states to be here. We know that this is an organized effort,” Chief Smith said. “We're committed to try and identify those that are behind it. And we're doing our very level best to arrest those that are perpetrating the violence on our community, our city, and against our citizens.”

The mayor also addressed the issue.

“Peaceful protests in solidarity against the injustices of black men hijacked by bad actors. As soon as you loot a store or set a public bus on fire, you're not demonstrating. You've made it about you,” Mayor Stoney said. "When you block law enforcement from allowing fire services to get to a home that has caught on fire. You are not inspiring change. When you knock out windows of businesses that had nothing to do with this, you are not inspiring change. That's an insult to the cause.”

Chief Smith said the physical violence reported in Richmond, including a Sunday morning shooting, has been protestor on protestor violence.

“The man shot last night was shot by a protestor,” he said. “We've had a number of people that have been injured by thrown bottles, rocks, bricks, everything that you can imagine, thrown by other protesters. As the mayor said, our protest has started out peacefully every single night with respectful people voicing their legitimate concerns.

We've been able to facilitate them in their First Amendment rights, but it hasn't taken too long each night before actors have taken over the protest and have changed the tone.”