ABC:
On June 1, 2020, Richmond police officers tear-gassed a crowd of peaceful demonstrators near the former Lee statue on Monument Avenue without warning and before the 8 p.m. curfew set by Mayor Levar Stoney.
“To our peaceful protestors: We are sorry we had to deploy gas near the Lee Monument. Some RPD officers in that area were cut off by violent protestors,” the department tweeted at 8:08 p.m. that night. “The gas was necessary to get them to safety.”
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The Richmond Police Department has retracted a June 2020 tweet that said tear gas had to be used around the former Gen. Robert E. Lee monument to get officers to safety who “were cut off by violent protestors.”
A lawsuit settlement between demonstrators and the city stipulated that the department must publicly acknowledge the tweet as false, according to the law firm that filed the federal suit.