CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WINA) – Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis has released bodycam video of officer interactions with homeless individuals sleeping in Market St. Park earlier this month.
The presentation was part of a Thursday afternoon news conference following an investigation of incidents that took place on September 12 and September 16. The investigation was ordered after speakers during the last City Council meeting accused officers of targeting Black unhoused individuals with violence.
“After reviewing this entire investigation, it has been determined that the allegations that our officers have, quote, ‘Have been targeting Black, unhoused individuals with violence,’ and that quote, ‘Officers have only been asking Black unhoused individuals to leave the park,’ are unfounded and simply did not occur,” Kochis said.
The September 12 bodycam video shows a man telling officers that they were about to arrest him because he had nowhere to go and wouldn’t be leaving. He was given multiple chances to gather his belongings and leave but refused, after which he was arrested for trespassing and taken away without incident.
In the September 15 video, a man in a tent was awakened and told that he had to leave, which he agreed to do, but soon went back to sleep. It was then that one of two officers lightly kicked the man’s feet to wake him up again. The man then packed up his belongings and left the park.
The news conference, including the video, can be seen here.
