Richmond police under fire for killing Black teacher on highway
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A grieving family is demanding answers after Richmond police shot and killed an unarmed man. Marcus-David L. Peters, who police say danced naked on the interstate and charged a police officer, has been identified as a science teacher and an honor graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The 24-year-old educator’s life was reportedly cut short after a bizarre interaction with police. According to reports, Peters crashed into two vehicles on and then emerged from his vehicle naked and started dancing, rolling around and then running onto an on-ramp.
“That was not my son,” said Barbara Peters, his mother. “This is just so out of character. Something went terribly wrong.”
Police said they used a taser to try to subdue Peters after they claim he charged an officer. One officer fired his weapon, hitting Peters who was unarmed. He later died at a local hospital.
Peters was a science teacher at Essex High School, according to his family.
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Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham released this statement:
“We are all deeply affected by what happened here—by the loss of life,” Durham said in a statement. “Our officers do not take the use of deadly force lightly. I think it’s important to remember that being naked does not remove a threat. So far, the eyewitness accounts we’ve heard have been consistent: our officer tried using verbal commands, then used non-lethal force first by deploying his Taser before using his service weapon.”
Friends of Peters posted their outrage about the senseless killing on social media.
Marcus-David Peters was shot and killed by Richmond cops. He was unarmed and naked — killed in broad daylight.
He was 24 years old & a recent grad. of @VCU where he studied biology. He graduated summa cum laude from h.s. His white classmates have their whole lives ahead of him pic.twitter.com/GgKbzMH7BF
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) May 15, 2018
