Richmond Police Chief Visibly Shaken After Protesters Set Fire to Occupied Home with Child Inside

Nationwide turmoil has escalated since the death of 46-year-old George Floyd on May 25 while in police custody. 

Despite the arrest of the Minnesota police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck, leaving him unable to breathe, violent demonstrations have broken out, leading to imposed curfews and emergency declarations in numerous states. 

Days of outrage over Floyd's death are wreaking havoc across the country and now some protestors are even hindering public safety personnel from doing their jobs.

Richmond, Virginia Police Chief William C. Smith became emotional during a press conference over protestors intentionally setting a fire in the city.

As fire crews responded to the scene of a house fire last weekend, protestors deliberately blocked their access - putting innocent lives in danger. 

"Protesters intentionally set fire to an occupied building. They prohibited us from getting on scene. We had to force our way to make a clear path for the fire department," Chief Smith said. "Protestors intercepted that fire apparatus several blocks away with vehicles and blocked the fire departments access to the structure fire. Inside that home was a child." 

At that point, four minutes into his comments, the chief gets choked up and is unable to continue speaking, reflecting on the child whose life was at stake. 

After several moments of silence, he then explained that officers were able to safely rescue the child and family inside the house. He reinforced that this type of senseless act will not be tolerated.

"Officers were able to help those people out of the house and we were able to get the fire department there safely," he said. "When you take a legitimate issue and hijack it for unknown reasons, that is unacceptable to me, Richmond Police Department, and the City of Richmond." 

"We know this is an organized effort, we're committed to try and identify those who are behind it and we are doing our best to arrest those who are perpetrating the violence on our community, our city, and our citizens," Chief Smith concluded. 

Please continue to pray for our nation and the leaders during these difficult times.

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