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Marcus-David Peters was a Virginia man shot and killed by police officer Michael Nyantakyi while Peters, unarmed, was having a mental health crisis on May 14, 2018. Two prosecutors' reviews have cleared Nyantakyi of wrongdoing. Peters' death was a focus of Virginia protests in 2020 during the George Floyd protests, and a community gathering place surrounding Richmond's Robert E. Lee Monument was marked with a sign for Peters. Later that year, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law named for Peters, intended to provide behavioral health experts to respond to people in mental health crises. These events prompted a 2021 third-party campaign for Governor by Peters' sister, Princess Blanding, who became an advocate for criminal justice reform following his death.

Killing

In 2018, Marcus-David Peters was a 24-year-old Black man and Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus who taught high school biology at Essex High School, commuting from his home in Richmond, Virginia.[1] On May 14, 2018, during a mental health crisis, Peters had a car accident in Richmond,[1] witnessed by police officer Michael Nyantakyi, a ten-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department,[2] who then pursued Peters.[3] Peters stopped his car by the on-ramp to Interstate 95 and got out of the car naked and distressed.[3] He was hit by a car but got up and seeing Nyantakyi, advanced toward him. In an encounter that lasted 76 seconds, Nyantakyi tasered Peters several times with no effect.[1] Peters continued walking towards the officer, threatening to kill him, and then attacked him.[1] Nyantakyi then fatally shot Peters.[3]

Law enforcement review

Two reviews by local prosecutors have cleared Nyantakyi of wrongdoing and no charges were brought. In 2018, Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring reviewed the case, releasing footage of the fatal encounter, and declined to bring charges.[3] Peters' family and other activists, who questioned why Peters was shot unarmed,[1] called for this incident to be reviewed by Herring's successor, Colette McEachin, who took up the case in July 2020.[4] In November 2020, she announced her findings, concurring with Herring that Nyantakyi's actions were reasonable.[3] The decision was an issue in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election.[5][6]

Marcus-David Peters Circle

Marcus-David Peters Circle, August 2020

During the 2020 anti-racist police brutality protests, protesters in Richmond unofficially renamed the grassy area around Richmond's Robert E. Lee statue "Marcus-David Peters Circle". It became a regular site of protest and community gathering, with protest graffiti and messages projected in lights on the Lee statue; images of the protest art were featured on the cover of National Geographic.[7] The area marked with a sign reading "Welcome to Beautiful Marcus-David Peters Circle, Liberated by the People MMXX".[8] The eight-foot-long sign was cut down in an apparent act of vandalism in August,[9] but was soon replaced[10] and gatherings continued, including a celebration of Peters's birthday in October that drew hundreds.[11] Organizers handed out plants and STEM technology kits to children in attendance in honor of Peter's work and as a symbol of commitment to the growth of the community.[11]

In late June 2020, police announced a curfew and other restrictions on activity in the circle, but hundreds of protestors responded by gathering after dark and the curfew was not ultimately enforced.[12]

On the weekend before the 2020 United States presidential election, a "Trump train" caravan of supporters of President Donald Trump resulted in an altercation with people in the circle, with witnesses reporting gunfire and chemical spray from the vehicles in the caravan.[13]

MARCUS Alert law

In the 2020 Virginia special legislative session on criminal justice reform and budgeting during the COVID-19 pandemic, House Bill 5043, titled the Mental Health Awareness Response and Community Understanding Services, or MARCUS alert system, introduced by Delegate Jeff Bourne, initiated a program to encourage use of mental health professionals to respond to people in mental health crisis.[14]

Peters's sister Princess Blanding worked with legislators and attended Governor Ralph Northam's ceremonial bill signing, but in her remarks at the ceremony she excoriated officials for the final bill that was considerably less robust than the initial proposal:

"Please take a moment to pat yourselves on the back for doing exactly what this racist, corrupt, and broken, may I also add, system expected you all to do: make the Marcus Alert bill a watered down, ineffective bill that will continue to ensure that having a mental health crisis results in a death sentence."[15]

She particularly took issue with the discretion left to police, the years the bill allowed to implement the changes, and the potential for a patchwork system instead of a unified change across the state.[15]

She also criticized other bills from the session that were altered in the legislative process, including changes to a bill that limited newly created civilian review boards, as well as the failure of the General Assembly to repeal qualified immunity, calling on all elected officials involved to "fix it."[15] In December 2020, Blanding announced a third-party campaign for Governor under the newly formed Liberation Party (Virginia), criticizing Democrats for offering "crumbs".[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Phillips, Kristine (May 27, 2018). "'Marcus needed help, not death': Body-cam video shows police officer fatally shooting naked man". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Richmond Police ID 10-year veteran involved in fatal I-95 police shooting". WTVR. May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "New review of Marcus-David Peters case finds shooting justified". Richmond Free Press. November 12, 2020. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Lazarus, Jeremy (July 23, 2020). "City prosecutor to review Marcus-David Peters case". Richmond Free Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Dominique, David (October 8, 2020). "The Million Dollar Question: An Exclusive Q&A With Jennifer Carroll Foy". RVA Mag. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Dominique, David (August 6, 2020). "DOMINION, DECRIMINALIZATION, AND DEMILITARIZING THE POLICE: AN EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH JENNIFER MCCLELLAN". RVA Mag. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Everett, Rachel Scott (December 24, 2020). "Richmond For The Win: From Making Ads To Making Change". RVA Mag. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Kolenich, Eric (June 26, 2020). "Space around the Lee statue has been informally named for a Black man who lost his life at the hands of police". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Kolenich, Eric (August 17, 2020). "Marcus-David Peters sign removed from the circle around Lee statue". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Sczerzenie, Anya (September 3, 2020). ""Creative Protests" At Marcus-David Peters Circle Combine Music, Art, and Resistance". RVA Mag. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "'There's still so much work to be done': Hundreds gather to celebrate Marcus-David Peters' birthday". WHSV. October 17, 2020. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Marcus, Ezra (June 23, 2020). "Will the Last Confederate Statue Standing Turn Off the Lights?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  13. ^ Williams, Reed (November 2, 2020). "Witnesses describe clash at Lee Circle between caravan of Trump supporters and a crowd of opponents". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "Blanding on Marcus Alert Bill Signing "Fix It"". VPM.org. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c Rockett, Ali (December 15, 2020). "Peters' sister blasts legislators and Gov. Northam as he ceremonially signs 'Marcus Alert' bill". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Princess Blanding Announces Third-Party Run for Governor". VPM.org. December 29, 2020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Marcus-David_Peters