Black college students handcuffed and racially profiled by police in Virginia in viral video
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The Lynchburg, Virginia Police Department is being criticized for how they handled a traffic stop with four Black students after a video of the incident surfaced on social media.
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Four Virginia University of Lynchburg students were reportedly on their way back to campus after finishing up an early morning workout when police stopped them for a broken tail light, 13 News reports.
The video which has now been removed from Facebook, shows the four men sitting handcuffed on a curb after cops pulled them over. The students reported that the officers pulled out their guns and searched their vehicle saying they smelled marijuana. A car search reportedly did not turn up any drugs.
“It was kind of alarming to watch, just to see that,” said VUL football coach, Bobby Rome, who witnessed the encounter.
In the video, the officer can be heard saying:
“The reason I reached for my gun is because I smelled marijuana,” the officer said. “The supreme court says guns and drugs go together.”
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The car was searched twice. The students received a ticket for a broken tail light.
“Those are my kids on the side walk,” Rome said. “They’re not criminals, gangsters, they’re not drug dealers. They’re not murderers. They’re here to get an education.”
The Lynchburg Police Department said they are investigating the matter but did not release the names of the officers involved in the stop.
University officials vowed to hold community conversations and to meet with police about the troubling incident.
