For Immediate Release 07/14/2020

Gary R. Reinhardt, Esq.

KPM Law
901 Moorefield Park Dr., Ste. 200
Richmond, VA 23236
Tel: (804) 320-6300
Gary.Reinhardt@kpmlaw.com

Statement on the events of May 31st, 2020

In the early hours of the morning on May 31st, I was assaulted by a Richmond Police
Officer as shown in the now infamously viral video. I feel a connection with the Richmond
community that guides my hand today; we are a small city united together like a family. Every
member of my family was hurt that night and the days after. We watched our buses burn, our
stores looted and vandalized, and our sense of safety shattered. That night my Richmond family
and myself were brutalized and our rights as Americans denied by a multi-agency task force
that was clad in dehumanizing body armor, and carrying weapons designed for war. This police
force, with all of its capacity for terror with the full authority of the government, did not act in a
just manner. This police force did not stop the rioters or those responsible for burning my city or
offer safety to the public. That night the police betrayed their oath to the innocent when they
turned their merciless propensity for violence and vengeance on myself and my Richmond
family.
Like many, I had returned home from attending a peaceful demonstration protesting the
murder of George Floyd. I was seeking to incite the will of our political leadership to reform
injustice and protect my community. I had respectfully returned to my own refuge as soon as the
rioting started. At home, I was solemn and saddened to watch my community being destroyed
by looting and rioting. At this point, the Police had massed a multi-agency, well-armed and
trained force in the city. Police ignored their responsibility of keeping peace to pursue political
vengeance against reform. As a result of the misallocation of resources, I watched the
destruction and lawless ransacking of my neighborhood. I was devastated to see the livelihoods
of small and local businesses destroyed by rioters who were unmistakably not affiliated with the
protest or the desire for peace. I did not choose to be housed at the center of this lawlessness.
Due to my proximity to the ransacking of my neighborhood, I felt the moral obligation to share
what I saw happening right outside my front door. In my eyes, no one was coming to help us, so
I began to stream the upheaval from the safety of my apartment.
When law enforcement arrived, I watched the police assault and batter a group of
innocent people in front of my home. I was enraged and traumatized. I was in a state of shock at
the people being attacked when I was attacked myself. I wish I could say it was the pepper
spray that hurt the most. It was not. I wish I could say It was the trauma and stress of being
assaulted in my own home that hurt the most. It was not. The events of that night, the physical
and emotional pain and stress only serve as a flashpoint to kick off the emotional odyssey to
follow. I would have preferred the whole assault on my person to be much worse if It meant
avoiding what came next.
To date, 5 Million People have watched the video of me being brutalized in my home by
chemical agents fired by the Police. 5 Million people know my name and 5 million people know
where I live. The week that followed was easily the worst week of my life in terms of the trauma
and stress caused by the incident. While reconciling my own trauma and witnessing increasing
levels of police violence toward my city that was growing more dramatic with every passing
moment, I had to bear vitriol, hate, and unspeakable threats of violence sent toward me as a
direct result of the police brutality I suffered. From the 5 million people who have viewed the
assault, there have been messages of support. I want to thank those, some of which were total
strangers, who have shown love and support toward me. But 5 Million people have seen the
video, and for every letter of support, I have been denigrated with hateful, racist, and
threatening language from members of the Klan and other hate groups that make me feel
unsafe and unwelcome to be Black in a community I live and work. Without the police assaulting
me, without the police brutalizing me, I could have had the right to carry on just being myself.
Because of police action, I no longer have the privilege of just being an American living in
peace. I am emotionally in a state of war, a war drawn by the hands of peace officers in which I
am given the choice to have the unbearable pain of the victim, or monumental torment of the
responsibility of leadership answerable to the 5 million people who watched that video and now
are watching my city, my community and myself and wondering what is next? A few days ago I
was just a guy with a camera.
I do not take this legal action lightly. It is not my desire to disrespect our public safety
institutions. I protest the police that do not do their job. This is not a war against police; this is a
war against police brutality. I only seek reconciliation for a historical injustice that was brought to
my doorstep that early morning and continuing to this very day. The fact of the matter is I was
brutalized, I was traumatized, my family was assaulted and my rights as an American were
violated. I will forever be unsafe now that I am infamous to racists across the world. My voice
and my actions are my own, but I have a responsibility to my community and my RVA family. I
am taking this action today because I cannot and will not let silence enable continued hate and
violence toward my community from members of law enforcement. There are many more people
like me who have been hurt, sought out and attacked by police who cannot tell their story. It is
my hope that through this legal action I can seek justice for not just myself, but for my city as a
whole. Our first step in rebuilding will be reconciliation. I am not here to throw bricks at cop cars
or at local shops downtown. I am here today laying brick-by-brick a monument that should stand
as a monument to all the stress, pain, and anguish in my life and the lives of others. It is my
hope justice is done and we can rebuild together.

For any further information or contact, please contact my attorneys:

Gary R. Reinhardt
W. Barry Montgomery
KPMLaw
901 Moorefield Park Drive
 Suite 200
North Chesterfield, VA 23236
(804)-320-6300
Gary.Reinhardt@KPMlaw.com
Barry.Montgomery@KPMlaw.com

-Mikhail