Police Chief Emotionally Describes How Rioters Set Fire to Building With Child in It, Then Blocked Firefighters Responding

Julio Rosas/Townhall
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Riots

There have been a lot of violent and horrible incidents in these riots, supposedly to remember George Floyd.

The argument that they’re about George Floyd is just flat out stupid, because everyone was talking about him and how wrong what happened to him was, and then the anarchists kicked off the riots and shifted the attention away from where it should have been.

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Perhaps the worst result so far has been the killing of Patrick Underwood, a Federal Protective Service officer who was assassinated in Oakland, California, by someone seemingly targeting law enforcement during a Floyd protest. Another officer was also wounded in the attack.

Fortunately for Richmond, Virginia, and the nation, the police there averted what could have been a horrible tragedy but, as it was, a terrifying effort to apparently kill people including a child.

Richmond Police Chief Will Smith got emotional when he explained how rioters set fire to a multi-family building with people inside, including a child.

According to NBC 12, Chief Smith says last night, protesters set fire to a few buildings, including a multi-family residence that was occupied by a child in the 300 block of West Broad Street.

As fire crews were arriving, Smith says protesters blocked the engine from reaching the fire.

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“This is not the only occupied building that has been set fire to over the last two days,” Smith said. “But they prohibited us from getting on scene. We had to force our way to make a clear path for the fire department. Protestors intercepted that fire apparatus several blocks away with vehicles and blocked that fire department’s access to the structure fire. Inside that home was a child.”

“When you take a legitimate issue and hijack it for unknown reasons, that is unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to the Richmond Police Department, unacceptable to the city of Richmond,” said Smith.

Smith and the Mayor called out the organized nature of outside actors.

From WTVR:

“We have people from across the country who have traveled many states to be here. We know that this is an organized effort,” Chief Smith said. “We’re committed to try and identify those that are behind it. And we’re doing our very level best to arrest those that are perpetrating the violence on our community, our city, and against our citizens.”

The mayor also addressed the issue.

“Peaceful protests in solidarity against the injustices of black men hijacked by bad actors. As soon as you loot a store or set a public bus on fire, you’re not demonstrating. You’ve made it about you,” Mayor Stoney said. “When you block law enforcement from allowing fire services to get to a home that has caught on fire. You are not inspiring change. When you knock out windows of businesses that had nothing to do with this, you are not inspiring change. That’s an insult to the cause.”

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It isn’t about George Floyd when people do things like this, it’s about creating as much chaos and harm as possible.

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