The Virginia Beach Police Department apologized after a video showing a Black man being wrongfully handcuffed in front of his family went viral.
Jamar Mackey was eating lunch at a table in Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach on Saturday, Dec. 19, when two police officers walked up and cuffed him. Shantel Covil, his fiancée, began recording the interaction shortly after Mackey was cuffed.
Jamar Mackey was detained after he was mistaken for an accused credit card scammer. (Photo: Shantel Covil video screenshots)
The couple repeatedly told the officers Mackey was innocent and asked why he was being detained. Their newborn and 13-year-old son were present during the interaction.
Police chief apologizes to Black man detained in Virginia
December 22, 2020 GMT
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) A viral video showing an officer handcuffing a Black man at Virginia mall as he and his family were eating has prompted a review of the incident by the city’s police department and a public apology from the police chief.
The video shared Sunday on Instagram by activist and writer Shaun King shows an officer detaining the man as he was eating with his family at Virginia Beach’s Lynnhaven Mall. It has since garnered more than 2 million views.
The city’s police department said officers were investigating an “offense” at the mall, and that man had “matched the description of the reported suspect.” Another man was subsequently arrested and charged with credit card fraud and receiving stolen goods, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said Monday during a news conference.
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