Fredericksburg City Manager Lifts Curfew 2 Days Early

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Fredericksburg's city manager lifted a curfew Saturday that he had placed on the city last Sunday in response to protests in the city against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and police brutality. City Manager Timothy Baroody said he made the decision after consulting with the city's Citizens Advisory Panel at Fredericksburg Police Department headquarters.

In a statement released Saturday, Baroody said all the members of the panel agreed with his decision to implement the curfew and now supported his decision to lift it. The members of the panel are Reverend Jarvis Bailey, Meredith Beckett, Reverend Hashmel Turner, Lafayette Upper Elementary School Assistant Principal PJ Pcsolinski, Fredericksburg School Superintendent Marci Catlett and Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw.

On Wednesday, Baroody issued a state of emergency for Fredericksburg and extended the curfew until Monday, June 8. Under the curfew, no person was authorized to be in public between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. through Monday.

At a protest last Sunday, Fredericksburg police fired tear gas on a group of protesters. Baroody said he hopes the use of tear gas is "something that we hope to never see again" in Fredericksburg.

Last Tuesday, an open letter signed by nearly 1,300 medical and public health professionals urged the police to stop using “tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants."

Tear gas can cause long-term health consequences and is an indiscriminate weapon, often harming unintended targets, including people inside their homes. An Ohio woman died last Saturday after getting sprayed with tear gas at a Columbus, Ohio, rally protesting the death of George Floyd, prompting the city to open an investigation into her death.

Meanwhile, Fredericksburg area residents were hit with tear gas again last Monday when the Stafford County Sheriff's Office fired gas at a large group of protesters who were on the Falmouth Bridge demonstrating against the death of George Floyd. The bridge connects Fredericksburg with Stafford County.

Baroody said in a statement how he felt a "deep feeling" of "unshakeable fear" when he saw protesters in the streets last Sunday, fear that the protesters' actions would get someone injured or killed. "The scene was chaotic and there were no familiar faces in the crowd to reach out to provide order or calm," said Baroody.

Fredericksburg Fire Chief Mike Jones also expressed concern about the lack of familiar faces among the crowd. Last Monday, Jones said "bad actors from outside the area" were "inject[ing] themselves with the intent to spread hate and criminal actions."

"Don't let folks from out of the area come to our great city and make it less of a place," Jones said. "All folks in Fredericksburg work hard each and every day to make this a better place to live. Let's keep it that way."

Prior to the curfew, two small fires were set early on May 31 at a police memorial and outside the front entrance to the Fredericksburg Police Department headquarters, according to the police department. The Fredericksburg Fire Department was able to put out the small fires. No injuries resulted from the flames.

As the week went on, Baroody said the city responded to the "mayhem of Sunday night to help frame peaceful expression of grievances." Protest organizers began to reach out to the city "to plan for safe events, and the city, especially law enforcement, reached back."

"There is a lot of work ahead and today's protesters have made it clear — they will not rest until they see change," Baroody said. "This work will require a 'whole of community' response."