Prosecutor withdraws charges against driver who said Chesterfield police used excessive force during traffic stop

On Wednesday, Chesterfield Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Julian Viscidi withdrew charges of obstruction of justice and having illegal window tint against 21-year-old James Monk without explanation.

Afterward, the prosecutor and Monk’s attorney, Sara Gaborik, said they had no comment about the disposition or what led to the decision to drop the charges. Monk and about a dozen supporters attended the hearing in Chesterfield General District Court; Gaborik spoke on their behalf.

In late May, the chairman of the Chesterfield NAACP legal redress committee, Tavorise K. Marks, called a news conference unauthorized by his organization to talk about the March 28 traffic stop near Virginia State University and criticize the officers’ actions, which he described as excessive use of force.

Monk said at the news conference that he was stopped for no reason, that he “followed all the rules,” and that he didn’t believe he should have done anything differently when officers asked him to comply with their demands. He also said he was “traumatized being blind” from the use of pepper spray.

Chesterfield Police Chief Jeffrey Katz, who strongly rebutted Marks’ interpretation of police’s body camera footage of the incident, declined to comment Wednesday.

In mid-June, Katz and Chesterfield NAACP President L.J. McCoy recorded a joint video message of unity that was posted on Facebook.

“Recently, some within the NAACP have sought to leverage the trusting relationship we’ve built over the years to gain some personal exposure with the media and through online platforms,” McCoy said.

Added Katz: “They’ve played fast and loose with the facts, and they’ve misrepresented information to the public in an effort to sow the seeds of fear and distrust.”

“These actions,” McCoy said, “jeopardize the legitimacy of both our organizations, and that’s just not acceptable to us, nor do we believe it’s acceptable to those who we serve.”

The NAACP’s Marks and Chesterfield police encouraged the news media to view body camera footage of the traffic stop. A reporter and an editor with the Richmond Times-Dispatch watched the video at police headquarters.

Police said Monk was pulled over about 12:30 a.m. at Second Avenue and James Street for having illegally tinted windows. After the officer told Monk the reason for the stop and called for backup, Monk was asked to exit his car.

After Monk did so, the officer asked him to face the car and told him that he was going to be detained. Monk immediately became uncooperative, and as he struggled with officers, he asked why he was being detained. He was told he smelled “like weed.”

Monk was pressed against his car to be handcuffed as he continued to struggle. An officer yelled “Stop, stop, stop!” as Monk moved one of his hands to his waistband and resisted attempts by the officers to handcuff him.

Monk was then taken to the ground, and he continued to resist being handcuffed. The officers shouted “Get on your stomach!” more than two dozen times, but Monk did not comply. They also ordered: “Give me your hands!”

As he was lying on the ground but still refusing to roll over, the video shows officers twice spraying Monk with pepper spray after issuing him warnings.

At one point, one of the officers, while on top of Monk, can be seen throwing punches toward Monk’s body. Marks has said the officer was assaulting Monk for no reason; police said the officer struck Monk in the right side of his ribs “as a discretionary technique in an attempt to get his hands behind his back for handcuffing.”

As the confrontation came to a head, the officer who initiated the stop warned Monk that he would be shocked with a Taser if he didn’t get on his stomach. Monk, lying on his back with his arms outstretched, said, “I’m not doing anything [wrong].”

The officer then used his Taser on Monk — 3 minutes and 14 seconds after the struggle began. Monk immediately flopped on his stomach and was handcuffed.

After arresting Monk, police searched his vehicle but did not find any marijuana or other contraband.

Police acknowledged that the use of the Taser in that specific instance violated department policy because Monk’s refusal to cooperate did not put anyone in a “risk of immediate danger” to themselves or others, the standard set by a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in 2016.

At the May news conference, Marks said civil action against the department was being considered. But Gaborik, Monk’s attorney, said Wednesday that nothing yet has been filed.