Racial justice group calls for
Sheriff Kincaid to fire deputies.
By Tim Peterson
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Four demonstrators were arrested
Monday morning at a protest outside the Fairfax Courthouse for the February 15
in-custody death of Natasha McKenna.
The protest organized by the
Northern Virginia Chapter of the national organization Showing Up for Racial
Justice had some 20 protesters.
It coincided with members from
SURJ delivering a petition to Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid demanding
the termination of the deputies who handled McKenna’s extraction from the jail,
where she died during the process.
McKenna, who was 37 at the time
of her death, was diagnosed with mental illness in her youth.
AS DEPUTIES attempted to prepare
her for transport to the Alexandria jail, they forced her to the ground, then
restrained her limbs in a chair and eventually covered her head with a spit
hood. One deputy used a taser on McKenna four times over the course of the
incident. McKenna lost consciousness and was transported to Inova Fairfax
Hospital, where she later died.
Cat Clark of Alexandria, an
activist and organizer with SURJ, said the petition was delivered, but not acknowledged
by Kincaid’s office.
When asked to respond to the
demonstration and petition, Sheriff Kincaid released the statement: “Everyone
has the right to protest lawfully and peacefully and also petition on issues
that matter to them. I hope that regardless of where each of us stands on the
issues of the day, we listen and learn from each other.”
Because of how they viewed the
petition’s reception, Clark said the demonstrators decided to spread across
Chain Bridge Road from the Courthouse to draw more attention.
“When a naked woman who is mentally ill is
shackled to a chair, bag over face, basically tased to death and there are no
repercussions of any kind,” Clark said, “people need to speak up, hold her name
in the light, stand up for her.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond
Morrogh completed an investigation of the incident and concluded there were no
grounds for criminal charges. The Sheriff’s office has completed its own
administrative investigation but has not said whether any of the deputies faced
discipline.
Demonstrators chanted and held
signs reading “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice for Natasha McKenna” and “You
promised you wouldn’t kill me”--which McKenna can be heard saying on a video
Kincaid released of McKenna’s transport from the jail to the hospital.
City of Fairfax Police responded
to the incident, as demonstrators in the roadway were illegally obstructing the
free passage of others.
Police warned the protesters they
would be arrested if they didn’t leave the street, spokesperson Sgt. Natalie
Hinesley said. All but four made their way to the sidewalk. Those that remained
were arrested.
Hinesley said the four were taken
before the a magistrate immediately and were subsequently released under their
own recognizance.
A statement from SURJ said
Brendan Orsinger, 34, was one of the four arrested for remaining in the street.
“Our silence perpetuates violence,” he said. “Too often we take our privilege
and walk away from tough conversations. I don't want to be complicit in
oppression anymore.”
THE JULY 11 PROTEST represented
one of seven SURJ chapters around the United States taking nonviolent actions
calling for changes in policing on the same day.
An administrative investigation
took place within the Sheriff’s Office to determine whether policies had been
upheld or violated and if any disciplinary action should occur. The Sheriff’s
office wouldn’t comment on results of the administrative investigation, when
asked whether any of the deputies had been disciplined in any way or whether
any policies had been changed in response.
