The victim, who was never arrested or charged with a crime, had to go to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Eyewitness account of the incident are as follows:
“I ran to the corner as I heard someone scream in pain and saw the cop lights.
When I got there, there were three officers pressing Lawrence into the short brick wall in front of Cohn’s on the Corner. It was visible that his ribs were being pressed into the brick.
Quickly those 3 cops became about 15 and the situation continued to escalate. They pulled Lawrence’s feet from underneath him slamming him into the floor as 4 cops pressed their knees into his back and ribs.
Witnesses and Lawrence’s wife continued to ask why he was being detained and say that he did not do anything.
The cops kept refusing to answer and eventually gave two different answers from two different cops: one saying that he had trespassed into UVA even though he was on the corner, and the second saying he was being detained to answer questions and ...
...get to the bottom of their marital dispute. Things continued to escalate as they grabbed Lawrence’s neck as they claimed he was biting. Videos do not show any sign of biting. His neck was being pressed down and twisted.
The cop only released his neck when an older woman cop told him to let go. Lawrence was visibly in pain and was confused during the situation as he did not know why he was being detained or being hurt by the police.
Eventually things de-escalated and Lawrence sat to answer questions by the older woman cop. He had to be pulled up from the floor to sit on the same brick wall he was slammed and pressed on to as he was pretty injured.
None of her questions were related to the incident and many cops came up to Lawrence telling him that they knew him and knew he wasn’t a trouble maker and so they were sorry for the response.
Lawrence vocalized that he was concerned bc they were homeless and they had lost all $180 of food that they bought at Sheetz. The cops refused to believe that this amount was spent and only bought them water bottles and found two bags of food that he had dropped in the incident.
Lawrence was visibly in pain and could barely walk as time progressed he could not stand. He was holding his ribs, had multiple cuts and scrapes over his body. He was shaking in pain.
The incident resulted in 3 broken ribs (2 on the left and one on the right) and multiple cuts and abrasions on his arms, wrists, side, and feet.” - D. T.
*We have decided not to release the video to the public to refrain from adding to the re-traumatization of persons in BIPOC communities who face excessive violence at the hands of the State every day. However, we’ve attached pics of the video for transparency.
At one point on the video, one of the officers explains why they have wrestled the victim to the ground and continue to assault him by saying “we are trying to detain you to figure out exactly what happened.”
At another point in the video, an officer is seen constantly kneeling on the victim’s upper torso.
Earlier this week, DefundCPD released a Letter to the Editor at the Cavalier Daily regarding an excessive use of force incident against another Black Cville resident in October following a UVA student’s call to the police to report a Black man who was walking to his church.
While no physical injuries befell that gentleman, he was made to endure the psychological and emotional trauma of being detained by 5 squad cars of police officers for simply walking while Black.
It is imperative that UVA officials, authorities, staff, and students alike recognize the threads of commonality between these two incidents. On the one hand, a UVA student weaponized their privilege against a Black Charlottesville...
resident whom that student identified as a threat to their personal comfort when no actual harm was imminent. A month later, UPD and CPD coordinated efforts to terrorize and brutalize another Black Charlottesville street-based resident who dared to be visible in...
... the vicinity of UVA’s hallowed Grounds when there is no evidence that his presence posed any actual threat of harm to anyone.
We urge EVERYONE to stop calling the police on Black people, and the UVA community in particular to name and dismantle the University’s legacy of violence against all BIPOC people.
***ACTION ALERT***
The Defund Cville PD campaign demands the officers involved in this brutal attack NOT be put on paid leave but rather be fired IMMEDIATELY! Please contact President Jim Ryan, Chief Timothy Longo and Chief Rashell Bracney to demand swift action be taken.
University of Virginia
President Jim Ryan
[email protected] 434- 924-3337
University of Virginia Police Department
Chief Timothy Longo
[email protected] 434-924-7166
Charlottesville Police Department
Chief Rashell Brackney
[email protected] 434-970-3280
The officers identified in the video are as follow:
UPD #18
UPD #27 - initial officer and aggressor
UPD #34
UPD #35
UPD #47
UPD #66 - initial office and aggressor
CPD #58
CPD #12
Ways to support Lawerence:
https://t.co/W4uswaE18e… Venmo:
@ CongregateCharlottesville
