Protesters, Police Chief Attend Racial Justice Rally In Vienna

VIENNA, VA — Hundreds showed up to protest racial injustice in Vienna Wednesday evening after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. The event on the Town Green remained peaceful, and most attendees wore face masks.

The event drew people of different ages and backgrounds, from young people, to families with children, to Vienna Police Chief Jim Morris. Protesters gathered on the Town Green and on the sidewalk along Maple Avenue with signs. Drivers honked as they drove by, and some passengers held up their own signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Signs placed around the Town Green displayed names of black Americans who have been killed. Chants such as "George Floyd," "Breonna Taylor," "Ahmaud Arbery," "black lives matter" and "I can't breathe" broke out during the hour-and-counting event.

"There is a familiarity with these events and also an emotional fatigue that comes with them," attendee Darryl Carson told Patch about his reaction to George Floyd and other black Americans' deaths.

Carson says most African Americans have had some kind of encounter with police, including himself. He recalled being pulled over after vacation in California not long after returning from serving in Iraq.

The reason he was pulled over? The law enforcement officer thought he was on the most wanted list.

"I was in a car with my wife, son and daughter," he said.

While protesters and police have clashed in other protests across the U.S., that wasn't the case in Vienna. The police chief came to the Town Green to greet attendees, and police vehicles blocked off a section of Mill Street to accommodate the crowd.

Morris, who became police chief in 2013 after working for Fairfax County police, attended Wednesday evening's rally and an early Black Lives Matter event organized by kids. He said the town's 41-officer police department tries to build on its community policing.

"We try to keep an ongoing dialogue," Morris told Patch about resident feedback. He acknowledged there are times when more "honest dialogue" is needed.

On the behavior of Minneapolis police against Floyd, Morris said his first reaction was disappointment in his profession. Speaking from 31 years of experience in law enforcement, he said "these types of things are too frequent and so disappointing" and don't represent the average officer.

Vienna's rally concluded with a nine-minute moment of silence as protesters kneeled. The nine minutes represented the approximate time of the Floyd video, where officer Derek Chauvin was seen kneeling on Floyd's neck.

Carson said in situations the Floyd's death "shouldn't be so difficult to charge a police officer." He supports law changes and police training but believes it comes down to what's in police officers' hearts.

Carson said he is encouraged by the young people who speak out when seeing incidents like George Floyd's killing and lessons they will pass on to their children. However, he believes racism and the applications of the criminal justice system will destroy the nation if they continue to go unaddressed.

"We can no longer ignore this," he said. "We can no longer deny this."